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They discovered their location through a highway exit sign that unveiled their end point: Alexandria, Louisiana.

They traveled in the back of an government transport – their items seized and identification retained by authorities. Rosario and her two American-born children, including a child who faces advanced renal cancer, remained unaware about where federal agents were directing them.

The initial encounter

The household had been apprehended at an required meeting near New Orleans on April 24. When denied access from speaking with their lawyer, which they would eventually argue in official complaints ignored legal protections, the family was moved 200 miles to this small community in the heart of the region.

"Our location remained undisclosed," Rosario stated, responding to questions about her experience for the premier instance after her family's case received coverage. "They instructed me that I must not seek information, I asked where we were headed, but they didn't respond."

The removal process

The 25-year-old mother, 25, and her two children were involuntarily deported to Honduras in the early morning hours the subsequent morning, from a rural airport in Alexandria that has emerged as a hub for extensive immigration enforcement. The location houses a distinctive confinement area that has been called a legal "black hole" by lawyers with people held there, and it opens immediately onto an flight line.

While the confinement area contains solely adult male detainees, confidential information indicate at least 3,142 mothers and children have traveled via the Alexandria airport on immigration transports during the first 100 days of the existing leadership. Various detainees, like Rosario, are detained at secret lodging before being deported or relocated to other detention sites.

Hotel detention

She was unable to identify which Alexandria hotel her family was taken to. "I recall we came in through a vehicle access point, not the primary access," she remembered.

"We were treated like detainees in lodging," Rosario said, adding: "My kids would attempt to approach the door, and the women officers would show irritation."

Medical concerns

The mother's child Romeo was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer at the age of two, which had spread to his lungs, and was receiving "regular and critical life-saving cancer treatment" at a pediatric medical center in New Orleans before his apprehension. His female sibling, Ruby, also a US citizen, was seven when she was taken into custody with her mother and brother.

Rosario "pleaded with" guards at the hotel to allow her to use a telephone the night the family was there, she stated in federal court documents. She was finally allowed one brief phone call to her father and told him she was in Alexandria.

The nighttime investigation

The family was roused at 2 a.m. the following morning, Rosario said, and taken directly to the airport in a government vehicle with other individuals also confined in the hotel.

Unbeknownst to the mother, her lawyers and supporters had searched throughout the night to locate where the two families had been kept, in an effort to secure legal action. But they could not be found. The legal representatives had made multiple applications to immigration authorities following the arrest to block the deportation and determine her location. They had been regularly overlooked, according to court documents.

"This processing center is itself essentially a void," said an immigration advocate, who is representing Rosario in ongoing litigation. "However, when dealing involving families, they will typically not transport them to the primary location, but accommodate them at secret lodging close by.

Judicial contentions

At the heart of the legal action filed on behalf of Rosario and additional plaintiffs is the assertion that federal agencies have ignored established rules governing the treatment of US citizen children with parents subject to deportation. The directives state that authorities "should afford" parents "sufficient time" to make decisions regarding the "care or travel" of their young offspring.

Government agencies have not yet answered Rosario's legal assertions. The government agency did not respond to specific inquiries about the claims.

The airport experience

"When we arrived, it was a mostly deserted facility," Rosario recalled. "Only deportation vehicles were pulling up."

"Numerous transports appeared with additional families," she said.

They were confined to the transport at the airport for four and a half hours, seeing other vans approach with men chained at their hands and feet.

"That experience was upsetting," she said. "The kids kept inquiring about everyone was shackled hand and foot ... if they were wrongdoers. I told them it was just part of the process."

The aircraft boarding

The family was then made to enter an aircraft, legal documents state. At roughly then, according to documents, an immigration regional supervisor eventually responded to Rosario's attorney – notifying them a removal halt had been rejected. Rosario said she had not agreed ever for her two American-born offspring to be removed to Honduras.

Advocates said the date of the detention may not have been random. They said the appointment – rescheduled three times without reason – may have been scheduled to align with a deportation flight to Honduras the next day.

"Officials apparently channel as many individuals as they can toward that facility so they can occupy the plane and send them out," commented a representative.

The aftermath

The complete ordeal has led to permanent damage, according to the legal action. Rosario still experiences concerns about exploitation and illegal detention in Honduras.

In a prior announcement, the federal agency claimed that Rosario "decided" to bring her children to the required meeting in April, and was questioned about authorities to relocate the minors with someone protected. The department also stated that Rosario chose to be deported with her children.

Ruby, who was unable to complete her school year in the US, is at risk of "learning setbacks" and is "facing substantial psychological challenges", according to the litigation.

Romeo, who has now become five years old, was unable to access specialized and life-saving medical treatment in Honduras. He briefly returned to the US, without his mother, to resume care.

"Romeo's deteriorating health and the interruption of his care have generated for her tremendous anxiety and psychological pain," the lawsuit claims.

*Names of family members have been changed.