Overview
- ICE said in a March press release that Wendy Hernandez Reyes abandoned her son, while court records and her statements describe repeated requests to be reunited or to take him to Honduras.
- Two-year-old Orlín Josué Hernandez Reyes died in Escambia County in March with injuries officials described as severe, and his uncle, Samuel Maldonado Erazo, was arrested, indicted, and has pleaded not guilty.
- Investigators cited broken ribs, a torn pancreas, burns, and signs of possible sexual abuse, and a medical examiner told police the injuries looked like the child had been stomped.
- Hernandez Reyes was stopped by Alabama police in early January, transferred to ICE through the 287(g) partnership, detained in Louisiana, and deported under a prior removal order after she missed a hearing.
- Community advocates have raised more than $15,000 to return the child’s remains to Honduras, and organizers say the process is harder because the mother reports she was deported without her passport.