Overview
- A federal judge ordered 15-year-old Emmanuel Gonzalez-Garcia released late last week, and he has been reunited with his mother in Houston.
- He spent 48 days in the custody of HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement after officials treated him as an unaccompanied minor, a status the judge rejected.
- Houston police had found him at a McDonald’s and, after officers reported he said he had no family locally, referred the case to federal authorities.
- His mother says she was not told his whereabouts for days, and during federal custody he underwent appendix surgery at Texas Children’s Hospital.
- Family attorneys say immigration matters tied to the case remain active, and DHS clarified he was not in ICE custody as advocates press for policy fixes.