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It was a interstate indicator that disclosed their final destination: Alexandria, Louisiana.

They were transported in the cargo area of an government transport – their possessions seized and identification retained by authorities. Rosario and her two American-born children, one of whom faces advanced renal cancer, remained unaware about where federal agents were taking them.

The initial encounter

The household had been taken into custody at an immigration check-in near New Orleans on April 24. When denied access from contacting legal counsel, which they would later claim in legal documents ignored legal protections, the family was relocated 200 miles to this small community in central Louisiana.

"They never told me where I was going," she recounted, providing details about her situation for the first time after her family's case gained attention. "I was told that I must not seek information, I inquired about our destination, but they offered no answer."

The deportation procedure

The 25-year-old mother, 25, and her minor children were compulsorily transported to Honduras in the early morning hours the following day, from a regional airfield in Alexandria that has become a center for large-scale removal programs. The location houses a specialized holding facility that has been described as a legal "vacuum" by lawyers with people held there, and it leads straight onto an runway area.

While the confinement area accommodates only adult male detainees, obtained records indicate at least 3,142 females and minors have been processed at the Alexandria airport on government charter flights during the opening period of the existing leadership. Some individuals, like Rosario, are detained at secret lodging before being removed from the country or transferred to other holding facilities.

Lodging restrictions

The mother didn't remember which Alexandria hotel her family was taken to. "I just remember we came in through a vehicle access point, not the primary access," she stated.

"We felt like captives in accommodation," Rosario said, explaining: "My kids would try to go toward the door, and the security personnel would show irritation."

Medical concerns

The mother's young boy Romeo was identified with stage 4 kidney cancer at the age of two, which had reached his lungs, and was receiving "regular and critical cancer care" at a specialized children's hospital in New Orleans before his arrest. His sister, Ruby, also a US citizen, was seven when she was detained with her family members.

Rosario "implored" guards at the hotel to permit utilization of a telephone the night the family was there, she reported in federal court documents. She was finally allowed one limited communication to her father and notified him she was in Alexandria.

The overnight search

The family was awakened at 2 a.m. the following morning, Rosario said, and brought straight to the airport in a government vehicle with additional detainees also held at the hotel.

Without her knowledge, her attorneys and representatives had looked extensively after hours to find where the two families had been kept, in an attempt to obtain legal intervention. But they remained undiscovered. The attorneys had made multiple applications to immigration authorities following the detention to prevent removal and find her position. They had been consistently disregarded, according to court documents.

"The Louisiana location is itself already a black hole," said an expert, who is representing Rosario in active court cases. "However, when dealing involving families, they will typically not transport them to the main center, but place them in secret lodging near the facility.

Legal arguments

At the core of the litigation filed on behalf of Rosario and another family is the assertion that immigration authorities have violated their own regulations governing the treatment of US citizen children with parents facing removal. The guidelines state that authorities "must provide" parents "adequate chance" to make decisions regarding the "welfare or movement" of their young offspring.

Immigration officials have not yet responded to Rosario's claims in court. The federal department did not answer detailed questions about the claims.

The airport experience

"Once we got there, it was a very empty airport," Rosario stated. "Exclusively removal vans were pulling up."

"Numerous transports appeared with other mothers and children," she said.

They were kept in the van at the airport for over four hours, watching other vehicles arrive with men shackled at their hands and feet.

"That portion was traumatic," she said. "My children kept asking why everyone was shackled hand and foot ... if they were bad people. I explained it was just normal protocol."

The flight departure

The family was then made to enter an aircraft, legal documents state. At around this period, according to filings, an immigration field office director finally replied to Rosario's attorney – informing them a stay of removal had been denied. Rosario said she had not agreed ever for her two citizen minors to be sent to another country.

Advocates said the date of the detention may not have been coincidental. They said the meeting – changed multiple times without reason – may have been scheduled to align with a removal aircraft to Honduras the subsequent day.

"Officials apparently channel as many detainees as they can toward that facility so they can occupy the plane and send them out," commented a legal advocate.

The aftermath

The entire experience has caused irreparable harm, according to the lawsuit. Rosario persistently faces concerns about exploitation and abduction in Honduras.

In a prior announcement, the Department of Homeland Security stated that Rosario "chose" to bring her children to the immigration check-in in April, and was questioned about authorities to relocate the minors with someone safe. The organization also stated that Rosario chose to be deported with her children.

Ruby, who was didn't complete her academic term in the US, is at risk of "learning setbacks" and is "facing substantial emotional difficulties", according to the court documents.

Romeo, who has now reached five years, was denied specialized and life-saving medical treatment in Honduras. He made a short trip to the US, without his mother, to resume care.

"Romeo's deteriorating health and the interruption of his care have caused Rosario tremendous anxiety and psychological pain," the legal action alleges.

*Names of people involved have been altered.