Five-year-old Génesis Ester Gutiérrez Castellanos was deported on January 11 to Honduras along with her mother, Karen Guadalupe Gutiérrez Castellanos. Génesis, born in Austin, Texas, is a US citizen but was taken by ICE agents following a 2019 deportation order against her mother. Karen said, “I kept telling them ‘the girl was born here’. They didn’t care.” The mother and daughter were held nearly a week in a hotel, denied access to a lawyer or judge hearing before their deportation. Karen, 26, moved from Honduras to the US in 2018 to escape poverty and build a better life. She has a pending U visa request after suffering domestic violence and separated from the child’s father. Despite her fears of ICE raids, she lived a stable life in Texas with her family around. ICE acted after Austin police found an active warrant at a domestic disturbance call. During detention, ICE reportedly hid their location, making legal help difficult. Kathleen Bush-Joseph of the Migration Policy Institute said this tactic “directly undermines immigrants’ rights.” Now in Honduras, Karen plans to send Génesis back to the US soon to live with relatives, as the child does not want to stay. This case highlights growing concerns over family separations amid mass deportations under the Trump administration. An earlier 2023 case also involved deporting US citizen children with their mother. The Migration Policy Institute warns millions of US citizen children with unauthorized immigrant parents face similar splits. Bush-Joseph said, “I do unfortunately anticipate more of these very difficult situations” as deportations continue.