A five-year-old child should not be in an immigration detention center

Washington DC, August 20, 2026. Fuerza Migrante expresses its deep concern over the case of Liam Tadeo, a five-year-old Mexican child from Guanajuato, detained along with his father by immigration authorities in Texas.

Beyond the immigration status of his parents, there is a principle that must take precedence over any procedure: the best interest of the child.

A five-year-old child does not pose a threat to the security of the United States and should not remain unnecessarily inside an immigration detention center when alternatives exist to protect him.

In cases like this one, Mexican consular protection cannot be limited to providing information, offering guidance, or waiting for the scheduled day to visit a detention center.

When a minor is involved, the response must be immediate.

Mexico has one of the largest consular networks in the world, along with institutional channels of communication with U.S. authorities. It is time to fully use that capacity to protect our most vulnerable fellow Mexicans.

Fuerza Migrante respectfully calls on Mexico's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to strengthen an immediate-response protocol for children, sick individuals, and other Mexicans in situations of special vulnerability under immigration custody—one that guarantees immediate consular contact, legal accompaniment, and direct communication with ICE authorities to evaluate all possible legal alternatives to detention.

We are not calling for confrontation.

We are calling for dialogue, will, and action.

Mexico and the United States can enforce their laws while at the same time finding ways to prevent children from facing the harshest consequences of an immigration proceeding. Diplomacy also serves that purpose: to open doors when a family feels that all of them have been closed.

No mother should have to hear “you have to wait” when her five-year-old is inside a detention center. In cases involving children, protection cannot wait.