San Diego: 8-year-old Haitian boy taken into federal custody at his immigration appointment

An 8-year-old Haitian boy, a third grader at Fay Elementary School in San Diego's City Heights neighborhood, was taken into custody by ICE officers on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, after a scheduled immigration appointment at the Edward J. Schwartz federal building, public broadcaster KPBS and ABC 10News reported. His uncle, who had raised him since his father was deported in March 2025, brought him there after receiving a notice.

The scene was filmed by Karen Pohl, a volunteer immigration court observer with the group Detention Resistance. She told KPBS she had never seen a child that young detained alone in that way.

The authorities' account

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says the uncle did not have legal custody of the boy. The child was therefore treated as an unaccompanied minor under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) and placed with the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) "out of an abundance of caution and to ensure the child's safety," a spokesperson said. According to ICE, the boy entered the United States with a man who said he was his father and who was later removed to Mexico by Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The child's whereabouts are not known: ORR had not answered ABC 10News's questions at the time of publication.

The school and the city want him back

The San Diego Unified School District disputes the federal account. According to school board trustee Cody Petterson, the uncle was listed in school records as an authorized caregiver. The district, City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera and several teachers' unions wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asking that the boy be returned to his uncle so he can go back to his school, his teachers and his classmates. Crisis counselors were sent to Fay Elementary.

Wister Gaetan, co-founder of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, is in contact with the family. He says the child's detention violates his right to due process and that he must be returned to his family. According to him, the father was deported after accidentally driving into Mexico. Elo-Rivera is also calling for the restoration of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians, which the Trump administration ended this summer.

The family is working to resolve the custody issue.