The boy walked silently, flanked in front and back by immigration officers. He had reported for an appointment with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Diego with his uncle and his uncle’s family. He was taken away alone.
A 36-second video of agents escorting the child from an interview room to an elevator ricocheted across social media this week — in part because the footage shows the boy holding his arms in front of his body, prompting speculation of restraints.
Immigration agents determined that the boy, an 8-year-old from Haiti, was an unaccompanied minor, despite documentation from his uncle that his family had been tapped as the boy’s caregivers. Members of Congress wrote to Trump administration officials on Tuesday, demanding information about the boy’s case, his whereabouts and the possible use of restraints.
In his first interview since the boy was detained, his uncle Edmard Volmy said he had cared for the boy since his father, who worked as an Uber driver, was deported in 2025 after mistakenly crossing into Mexico and trying to re-enter the United States.
“He’s part of our family,” said Mr. Volmy. The boy and his father had lived with Mr. Volmy’s family since their arrival in the United States in 2019. They later gained Temporary Protected Status, a legal safeguard that allowed them to live, work and go to school without risk of deportation. The Trump administration revoked T.P.S. for Haitians in July, leaving hundreds of thousands vulnerable to detention and deportation.
The boy called his aunt “mama” and was treated as a beloved little brother by his two teenage cousins, Mr. Volmy said. The boy was thriving in the third grade, said Johana Bielma, the principal of Fay Elementary School, which he had attended since preschool.
“This has devastated us,” Mr. Volmy said. His lawyer, Robert Ferretti, who was not officially representing the child, said in an interview that Mr. Volmy had provided a notarized letter in which he was appointed by the boy’s father as the child’s caregiver.
Mr. Ferretti said an officer told him that the letter was not acceptable and that a court guardianship order was required.
The boy was separated from his family and escorted to a room where four officers stood watch, as an ICE agent delivered the news that the boy was being detained and would be sent to a migrant center, Mr. Ferretti said.
He also recalled that an ICE officer had told the boy, “It’s going to be fine. They have ice cream and video games.”
In response to questions, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that “a man claiming to be the child’s uncle” had brought the boy to the immigration check-in, his first since his father was deported.
“Out of an abundance of caution and to ensure the child’s safety, ICE determined it was best to remove the child from the household and place him in the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement,” the statement read. The agency said the boy was taken into custody as an “unaccompanied alien child.”
D.H.S. did not confirm or deny that the boy had been restrained.
As the Trump administration has intensified its immigration crackdown, lawyers and advocates have encouraged parents at risk of deportation to prepare legal documents, such as powers of attorney, authorizing relatives or friends to care for their children if they are detained. However, many do not have this safeguard.
“Unfortunately, when parents gets detained or deported, they aren’t allowed to go back and put a legal guardianship in place,” said Guerline Jozef, executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, a national advocacy group.
Immigration authorities could have allowed the boy to stay with his family, said Mishan Wroe, directing attorney at the National Center for Youth Law, a legal advocacy organization.
“D.H.S. could have exercised discretion,” she said. “Instead, they chose to send him to a shelter where he will be alone rather than in school and with people who love him.”
On Tuesday, Democratic members of the House and Senate from California sent a letter to Markwayne Mullin, the Homeland Security secretary, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, demanding answers about the case and what steps were being taken to reunify the boy with the family.
“Video footage appears to show the use of restraints on a child who seemed to pose no threat to those around him, raising serious questions about the handling of this incident,” the lawmakers wrote.
The office of Representative Juan Vargas, among the signatories, said it had not yet received any information on the case or the child’s whereabouts.
Mr. Volmy, the uncle, said that he and his family reported to ICE with the child after receiving letters instructing them all to appear for a check-in on Nov. 4.
The woman who recorded the video, Karen Pohl, a 70-year-old retired Master Chief and civil servant in the Navy, said she spends three days a week at the federal building as an observer of ICE check-ins.
“This is the youngest person I have ever seen detained alone,” Ms. Pohl said.
Because she filmed from behind, Ms. Pohl said that it was impossible to see whether the child was restrained.
After the boy entered the elevator with the men, Ms. Pohl said that she rushed to a railing that overlooks the lobby, hoping she would spot him. When he failed to appear, she feared he had been detained.
Near the waiting area, she encountered Mr. Volmy and his family as they were leaving. The children were sobbing, Ms. Pohl said.
Late on Monday, Mr. Volmy said that he had spoken with the boy on a video call earlier.
“He just cried and begged to come home,” he said. “He was distraught. He didn’t know where he was.”
Back at home, “everyone is heartbroken,” he said. “We just want the boy back with us, his family.”
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