DHS Responds to Criticism Over Deportation of 5-Year-Old Boy

<p>Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin addressed criticism from Texas Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico regarding the deportation of a young boy who was detained with his father by federal immigration authorities. </p><p>Victor Martinez Nieto and his 5-year-old son, Liam Tadeo, were both deported on August 27, 2026. The pair had been detained by authorities in Austin, Texas, earlier in the month while on their way to a soccer match.</p><p>On August 28, Talarico criticized the deportation, stating that Tadeo, who was scheduled to start kindergarten that week, should have been in a classroom instead of being deported. Talarico claimed on social media, "ICE kidnapped Liam Tadeo on his way to a soccer game with his dad. Liam should be in kindergarten. Instead, our government has thrown him in a prison camp hundreds of miles from home."</p><p>On August 29, Talarico confirmed that Liam had been deported.</p><p>In response, Mullin stated that Talarico "won't tell the American people the full story," emphasizing that the boy was deported with Martinez Nieto at his father's request. Mullin asserted, "ICE does NOT separate families. Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children or ICE will place the children with a safe person the parent designates. In this case, both the father and son were deported together."</p><p>Mullin also noted that parents are responsible for their children's welfare, similar to any U.S. citizen parent who is arrested. The father and son were held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center.</p><p>Fox News Digital has reached out to the family's attorney. Martinez Nieto was arrested by immigration officers in November 2025 and deported in February. He later reentered the United States illegally, according to The Austin American-Statesman.</p>