ICE detains 5-year-old Austin boy, father on way to soccer game

A 5-year-old boy and his father on their way to a soccer game were detained in Austin by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and taken to an immigration detention facility in South Texas, according to U.S. Rep. Greg Casar and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Casar identified the boy only by his first name, Liam. A GoFundMe fundraiser identified him as Liam Tadeo. Liam and his father, Victor Martinez Nieto, were detained in Austin on Sunday and later transferred to the Dilley Immigration Processing Center.

“I’m calling for the immediate release of Liam, the immediate release of all of these kids, and for the closure of the Dilley trailer prison because kids should be playing soccer, going to school, living their lives, not being arrested on the streets,” Casar said in a video posted to Instagram on Thursday evening.

In a statement from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, ICE confirmed that the agency had detained Liam and Martinez Nieto. DHS stated that Martinez Nieto lacked legal status, which the Statesman has not independently verified. The agency didn’t mention Liam’s immigration status. 

According to DHS, Martinez Nieto had been arrested by immigration officers in November 2025, accepted voluntary departure and was removed from the country in February. The agency said he later reentered the U.S. without authorization.

DHS said Martinez Nieto and Liam will remain together in ICE custody pending removal. According to the DHS statement, parents can choose whether to be removed with their children or have ICE place the children with a safe person they designate. 

Zaira R. Garcia, regional government relations director with FWD.us — an immigration and criminal justice reform advocacy organization — said ICE detained the pair and that both lacked legal status.

Garcia told the Statesman that Liam and his dad were taken on Sunday. Garcia said Liam’s 3-year-old cousin and the cousin’s father, both of whom are U.S. citizens, also were in the vehicle but were not detained.

The GoFundMe organizer, Patricia Resendiz, wrote that she is Liam’s aunt and that the boy and his father were detained. Resendiz wrote that Liam “was supposed to start kindergarten this week” but instead was being held in the South Texas detention facility. 

“The detention of Liam and my brother-in-law was cruel; they are not criminals — they were simply on their way to a soccer match. Liam is a beautiful, intelligent and big-hearted little boy,” Resendiz wrote in a statement posted on Instagram. “My sister is devastated, and so are we. Liam was detained right in front of my son, his cousin. My son told me that the ICE agents said to Liam, ‘You can’t escape.'” 

Casar drew parallels to the detention of Liam Conejo Ramos, a 5-year-old boy detained in Minnesota and also held at the Dilley facility.

The Statesman contacted ICE for additional information about the detentions but had not heard back as of Friday afternoon.

This is a developing story; check back for updates.