U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas)—who represents the state’s 20th Congressional District—posted to X Wednesday.
“Wilfredo is 10 years old. Last week, he represented himself in immigration court,” Castro wrote. “His mother, Nexoli, was detained in Houston and has been locked up and away from her son since December.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to Chron’s request for comment by the time of publication.
Castro alleged the Department of Homeland Security wants to deport the 10-year-old to Ecuador.
“(Ecuador is) a place he has never been and knows no one,” Castro wrote. “Nexoli has a work permit and was trying to do everything the right way.”
The congressman called on ICE to release Nexoli and stop its deportation case against Wilfredo immediately.
“He should be treated like a kid—not a criminal,” Castro wrote.
Nexoli’s former boss has become the legal guardian of Wilfredo, as the pair have no other family in the United States, as reported by KABB FOX San Antonio. Nexoli and Wilfredo have a pending asylum case and his guardian is awaiting more information on DHS’s request to report him.
Nexoli was detained a few months ago in Houston during a traffic stop, according to KABB.
On Thursday morning, Castro also reposted a reply from Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow of the American Immigration Council. Melnick called out the Trump Administration in connection with the incident.
“‘A 10-year-old represented himself in immigration court’ is a dystopian statement that seems fake at first glance but is actually a relatively common occurrence in our absurd system,” Melnick wrote. “One of the Trump admin’s first acts was to strip funding for legal counsel for children.”