A Virginia grandmother is struggling to care for six children after her son was deported to Honduras. She already cared for her own three children; now she cares for her son’s three children, too.
Albertina Cruz Reyes said she’s depending on her community’s goodwill to survive.
“The neighbors gather and are helping me pay the rent and bills,” she said.
Her son, who asked to be identified only as Carlos for safety reasons, acknowledged the challenge his mother now faces.
“I’m a single father, and my concern is that my mother can’t even work because the little she can earn is for their care,” Carlos said on a video call.
“I’m also worried that my children aren’t studying and can’t see a doctor,” he said.
Carlos said since he was deported to Honduras, he has had to go into hiding.
“I’m in a room without being able to even go outside because my life is in too much danger,” he said.
Carlos said he’s being targeted by suspected gang members. Telemundo 44 reviewed a 2021 report filed with the National Anti-Gang Force of Honduras that said he and his family were extorted and had death threats against them.
“I just received an intimidating message wanting me to appear before them because they already know I’m in Honduras,” he said.
The young man said he decided to flee to the United States in 2021 and that, due to a lack of resources, he was unable to attend the hearing for his immigration case.
“They gave me a deportation order for absence, and I looked for a way to fix everything, but it was impossible,” he said.
Once detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, his attorney requested the reopening of his asylum case. However, Carlos was reportedly deported before he could appear before a judge at a hearing scheduled for January 2026.
Telemundo 44 contacted ICE, and they responded with the following statement:
“Any accusation that [Carlos] did not have access to an immigration judge is FALSE. In fact, he did not even appear for his immigration hearing. An immigration judge ordered his deportation,” the agency responded.
His mother said she needs her son back in Virginia.
“My fear is that they won’t return my son here, and the truth is that I need him to come and be with his children because he has been a father and mother to them, and the children need him,” she concluded.
Go here to read this story in Spanish from Telemundo 44.
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