NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 6: An ICE agent monitors hundreds of asylum seekers being processed upon entering the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building on June 6, 2023 in New York City. New York City has provided sanctuary to over 46,000 asylum seekers since 2013, when the city passed a law prohibiting city agencies from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement agencies unless there is a warrant for the person's arrest.(Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
Torrance, California – A fourth-grade student from Southern California is at the center of an immigration enforcement controversy after being separated from his father and detained by federal immigration authorities in Texas, prompting alarm and frustration among his school community and immigrant rights advocates.
Martir Garcia Lara, a student at Torrance Elementary School, was reportedly taken into custody alongside his father after the two attended a scheduled immigration court appointment in Houston on May 29. According to the school’s Parent Teacher Association, the pair were detained and then separated without clear explanation, leaving the nine-year-old boy alone in an unfamiliar facility under the care of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“He’s alone and he’s not able to return home,” said Jasmin King, president of the Torrance Elementary PTA. “All we know is that Martir is just a fourth grader who’s by himself, without his dad, without a parent, and just in a place that he probably doesn’t know.”
The boy’s detention comes amid an expanding federal crackdown on undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers, including a recent surge in courthouse arrests carried out by ICE officers. These actions—targeting individuals during or immediately after court appearances—have sparked condemnation from civil rights organizations, immigration attorneys, and community leaders, who argue that these enforcement practices undermine trust in the legal system and punish families for attempting to comply with the law.
The Torrance Unified School District released a brief statement saying it was “actively working with the family and authorities to understand the facts of the situation” and reaffirmed its commitment to student safety. Officials have not confirmed whether the district has been able to speak directly with the child or his father since their detention.
Martir’s case reflects a broader national pattern. Since President Donald Trump returned to office, ICE has accelerated the use of “expedited removal,” a fast-track deportation process that allows immigration agents to deport individuals without a court hearing if they cannot prove they’ve been in the country continuously for more than two years. While originally limited to border regions, the policy has been expanded to cities and towns across the United States.
According to the American Immigration Lawyers Association, federal authorities have increasingly targeted parents and children inside courthouses, immigration offices, and even schools. The group has documented dozens of arrests involving families, including toddlers and nursing infants, raising alarm about a system that appears to conflate legal compliance with criminality.
