Overview

• HPD says officers located 15-year-old Emmanuel Gonzalez-Garcia on Oct. 5 but could not fully identify him due to limited communication, obtaining only his name, birth date, and country of origin.
• ICE told advocates it assisted HPD in placing the teen with HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement after officers encountered a minor who said he was homeless and from another country.
• ORR classified him as an unaccompanied minor, which blocks immediate reunification and requires a vetted sponsor in the United States for his release.
• The family and FIEL report they have not been given the shelter’s location and were allowed only a 30-minute video call during which Emmanuel appeared frightened.
• FIEL plans to question city leaders at an upcoming Houston City Hall meeting and is considering legal action over the decision to route a missing child with autism into immigration custody.