Masked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents reportedly detained a 4-year-old boy and his mother at a federal immigration office in Southern California on Nov. 3. A witness said the mother asked to leave her son with a family friend who was already there, but agents took them both into custody.
The mother had come to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office on Colima Road in the City of Industry for a biometrics appointment related to her immigration case, according to an account reported by IBTimes UK. A subsequent claim that ICE moved the boy to Texas in violation of a judge's order remains unverified.
In footage of the encounter, a woman identified in the accompanying account as Mia calls after an agent: "Are you proud of this? You just took a kid!" She also asks, "Where are you putting the kids?"
Mia said agents refused the mother's request to let the friend care for the boy. Her account did not explain why agents declined or whether they discussed another arrangement with the mother. Neither ICE nor USCIS had publicly confirmed the circumstances of the detention or the child's whereabouts.
ICE detain mother—and her orphaned 4 year old boy. At fingerprinting appointment for asylum case. "You just took a kid!" witness yells.
"Where are you putting the kids?" Lawyer said: "This is the first time I’ve heard of them not even letting a child go." "His mother wanted a family friend who was already present to take care of the boy." She says they were legally observing—and the child has a right to counsel under an injunction. Referencing the 2025 Supreme Court case Kristi Noem v. Pedro Vasquez Perdomo. Incident occurred at USCIS El Monte Application Support Center in City of Industry, California. Chuang Legal Office doesn't have an active account on this platform—so posting first full length and credited video here to help raise awareness. — LongTime FirstTime (@LongTimeHistory) November 5, 2026
The allegation about Texas came from an account circulating online. It claimed that ICE had transferred the boy to a detention facility there despite a court order. The account included no court docket, copy of the order or detention record, and IBTimes UK reported that it could not independently confirm either the transfer or the alleged violation.
A habeas corpus petition asks a court to review whether someone is being held lawfully. A petition alone would not show that a judge had barred a transfer. Without the order or a record of the boy's movements, it is unclear what restrictions, if any, applied or whether ICE acted contrary to them.
The Colima Road office is one of several USCIS fingerprinting sites in Los Angeles County where journalists and residents have reported immigration arrests. The accounts have drawn attention because families seeking to advance an immigration case may be required to appear in person for fingerprinting. Some wait months or years for an appointment.
L.A. TACO reported that three people were taken into custody at the City of Industry office on Sept. 25. Community accounts later described the detention of a mother and daughter there on Oct. 13.
Independent journalist Izzy Ramirez reported on Oct. 31 that at least three people had been detained at the Colima Road site two days earlier, at about 9:13 a.m. Detentions have also been reported at application support centers in Gardena and on South La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles. On Nov. 2, the day before the reported detention of the boy and his mother, a contributor to Stop ICE Alerts reported another arrest at the Colima Road office.
