Overview
- New reporting challenges ICE’s March claim that Wendy Hernandez Reyes abandoned her son, citing court records and her account that she repeatedly asked to be removed with him.
- Hernandez was stopped by Alabama deputies in January and transferred to ICE under the 287(g) program, which lets local police help enforce immigration law, then detained in Louisiana and deported without her child.
- Her two‑year‑old son, Orlín, stayed with his uncle in Florida and died in March with injuries officials described as consistent with severe abuse, including broken ribs, burns, and a transected pancreas.
- The uncle, Samuel Maldonado Erazo, was arrested and later indicted on murder charges in late March and has pleaded not guilty, and ICE placed an immigration detainer on him alleging he entered the U.S. illegally in 2021.
- Community advocates are raising money to return Orlín’s remains to Honduras, and supporters say the mother’s lack of a passport after deportation has slowed the transfer.