Lawmaker says the US deported a sick baby, while authorities say the child was medically cleared

Immigration officials deported a 2-month-old baby suffering from bronchitis to Mexico along with his family, despite the infant reportedly being in a deteriorating medical condition, according to U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro of Texas.

The Democratic lawmaker stated Tuesday on social media that the child had been “unresponsive in the last several hours” before being discharged from the hospital and deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The baby was deported alongside his 16-month-old sister and parents, information Castro said he confirmed with the family’s attorney.

“To unnecessarily deport a sick baby and his entire family is heinous,” Castro wrote, promising to “hold ICE accountable for this monstrous action.”

Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin offered a different assessment of the situation on Wednesday, stating that the child was in “stable condition and medically cleared for removal” before deportation. According to McLaughlin, pediatricians provided the parents with a nasal saline spray and a nasal bulb syringe to continue the infant’s care after deportation.

The child’s mother, Mireya Stefani Lopez-Sanchez, was apprehended by Border Patrol on January 21 while crossing the border illegally near Eagle Pass, Texas. Officials state that Lopez-Sanchez chose to keep her child with her when transferred to ICE custody.

“All of her claims were heard by a judge and found not to be valid,” McLaughlin said, noting that a judge issued a final order of removal on February 8. The family was deported on Tuesday after what McLaughlin characterized as “full due process.”

The case highlights ongoing tensions surrounding U.S. immigration policies and the treatment of detained migrants, particularly children. Under the Biden administration, immigration agencies have continued to face scrutiny over detention conditions and deportation practices, with advocacy groups arguing that vulnerable individuals like children and those with medical conditions should receive special consideration.

This incident occurs amid broader national debate about immigration enforcement priorities. Last month, images of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos wearing a bunny hat while surrounded by ICE officers in Minnesota sparked widespread criticism. The boy and his father were subsequently released following a judge’s order.

Both the Ramos case and the recent infant deportation involved detentions at the family detention center in Dilley, Texas, a facility that has previously faced allegations of inadequate care and conditions.

Court filings from last year reported families and monitors at federal detention facilities documenting contaminated food and insufficient access to medical care and legal counsel. The documents also revealed hundreds of immigrant children being held beyond court-mandated time limits, with some detained for more than five months.

Bronchitis, the condition affecting the deported infant, is an inflammatory respiratory condition affecting the airways in the lungs. The condition causes coughing and can be particularly serious in infants, whose immune systems and respiratory passages are still developing.

Immigration advocates have long raised concerns about the deportation of individuals with active medical conditions, arguing that sudden returns to countries with potentially limited healthcare infrastructure could pose significant health risks.

The conflicting accounts between Representative Castro and DHS officials regarding the infant’s medical condition at the time of deportation illustrate the ongoing tensions between immigration enforcement priorities and humanitarian concerns that continue to characterize the U.S. immigration debate.