Overview
- Federal agents arrested the parents and their 7-year-old on Jan. 16 outside a Portland emergency department as they sought treatment for the child’s prolonged nosebleed.
- The family was released Friday and is traveling back to Portland, with arrival expected early Saturday, according to their supporters and Rep. Maxine Dexter.
- They spent 22 days at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center during a confirmed measles outbreak, surpassing the roughly 20-day limit for child detention cited under the Flores settlement.
- Rep. Maxine Dexter traveled to Dilley, was denied entry Thursday over a claimed seven-day notice rule, and returned Friday to continue pressing for the family’s release.
- DHS said Border Patrol made the Portland arrest and that asylum applications do not bar enforcement, while a family friend says the family entered legally in 2024; the facility has also faced scrutiny in a separate recent case involving a 5-year-old who was released.