KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After more than a month, a mother and son were reunited only to have their lives changed once again.
Kenia Bautista-Mayorga, who is six months pregnant, and her 3-year-old son Noah were deported Tuesday from KCI Airport.
A clip showing an incident that played out in front of the ICE facility on Ambassador Drive is going viral.
Bautista-Mayorga's two immigration attorneys are accusing ICE officer Everett Chase of assaulting them outside.
"We expected to be going in right behind Officer Chase and he turned around, pushed us out of the door and shut the door and locked it. That's when Megan and I fell and I rolled my ankle and have a fracture in my right foot," Attorney Andrea Martinez said in an afternoon news conference.
At around 3:15 a.m., Martinez and her colleague Megan Galicia were escorting Bautista-Mayorga's three-year-old son to be reunited with her, then board a plane back to Honduras together.
41 Action News obtained several videos from eyewitnesses that shows two ICE officers blocking the lawyers from entering with Noah and his stepfather, Luis Diaz-Inestroza.
"You don't separate any client from their lawyer, particularly not a three-year-old," Martinez said.
"And you don't assault the lawyer," Galicia added.
Eventually, Officer Chase and another officer, Ronette Sasse, let Martinez in the building.
"He told Kenia and Noah to get on a plane without suitcases, so what we have before you are the suitcases that [were] still in my car that were supposed to be going to Honduras," Martinez said.
Bautista-Mayorga came to the United States in 2016, saying she was fleeing an abusive marriage in Honduras.
On May 16, Bautista-Mayorga was taken into custody by ICE after a traffic stop about 30 minutes outside of Kansas City.
She, Diaz-Inestroza, and Noah were pulled over on the highway while traveling to Iowa. She was detained, while Diaz-Inestroza and Noah went back to Texas where they live.
Bautista-Mayorga was being held in the Platte County Jail until early Tuesday when she was taken to the Enforcement Removal Operations building to reunite with Noah.
Supporters gathered outside of the ERO building at 3:15 a.m., holding signs and chanting in support of Bautista-Mayorga and her family.
On Monday, the legal appeal filed by Bautista's attorneys was denied, so after being reunited, Bautista-Mayorga and Noah were taken to KCI to go back to Honduras.
Martinez says on Monday, she and ICE officials agreed Noah would be reunited with his mom in the parking lot.
She says Diaz-Inestroza didn't want to go in the building, but that the ICE officer made him go inside.
"Luis was taken by ICE after this. He was handcuffed and placed in removal proceedings," Martinez said.
ICE sent 41 Action News the following statement Tuesday evening:
“Early this morning an incident occurred at the Kansas City ICE office while ICE ERO officers were attempting to reunite a mother with a family member. We take any allegations against ICE personnel very seriously and are looking into the matter. Until a review of the documentary evidence is completed, ICE can issue no further public comment on the matter.”
—
