A Southern California fourth grader who was detained by immigration officials was deported and is now living with his father in Honduras.
Martir Garcia Lara, 9, is adjusting to his new life in the small town of Temputitalpa.
“I was scared to come here,” he shared in an interview with Univision.
Lara was a student at Torrance Elementary School whose detainment sparked outrage from teachers and community members who knew the boy.
On May 29, he attended an immigration hearing in downtown Los Angeles with his father, Martir Garcia-Banegas, 50.
Instead of receiving an update on their immigration status, the boy and his father were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). After a short separation, the next day, they were transferred to an immigration facility in Texas with plans to deport them to Honduras.
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Martir Garcia Lara, 9, speaks with a Univision reporter after he and his father were deported from Southern California and back to Temputitalpa, Honduras. (Univision) -
Martir Garcia Lara, 9, and his father, Martir Garcia-Banegas, 50, speak with a Univision reporter after he and his father were deported from Southern California and back to Temputitalpa, Honduras. (Univision) -
Martir Garcia Lara, 9, and his father, Martir Garcia-Banegas, 50, speak with a Univision reporter after he and his father were deported from Southern California and back to Temputitalpa, Honduras. (Univision) -
Martir Garcia Lara is seen in a photo from Torrance Elementary School. -
A letter sent by PTA leaders to parents at Torrance Elementary School about the detainment of Martir Lara and his father. (Jasmin King) -
Torrance Elementary School in Torrance, California. (KTLA) -
Martir Garcia Lara, 9, speaks with a Univision reporter after he and his father were deported from Southern California and back to Temputitalpa, Honduras. (Univision) -
Martir Garcia Lara, 9, and his father, Martir Garcia-Banegas, 50, are seen in a family photo. -
Torrance Elementary School in Torrance, California. (KTLA)
ICE officials said on July 10, 2021, the boy and his father left their hometown and illegally entered the U.S. On Sept. 1, 2022, an immigration judge ordered the pair to return to Honduras. Garcia-Banegas appealed the decision, but on Aug. 11, 2023, the appeal was dismissed.
However, the boy and his father did not leave the country as ordered and during the immigration hearing in downtown L.A., they were detained, ICE said.
News of the boy’s detainment had teachers and community members rallying together to find a way to help the pair stay in the country. Lara had been a student at Torrance Elementary since the first grade.
However, federal officials said the father and son had “exhausted due process and have no legal remedies left to pursue.”
Just days ago, they landed in Honduras. The 9-year-old said he misses his life in Torrance and is working to adjust to his new reality.
“I want to see my friends again,” Lara said. “I miss all my friends.”
The boy’s father said he hopes his case will be reconsidered in the future. In the meantime, he is working to provide for his son the best he can.
“They’re being cruel to people,” Garcia-Banegas said about the ICE raids in Los Angeles. “All of it — it’s inhumane.”