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The Southern California fourth-grader, who was detained by immigration officers, was deported and now lives with his father in Honduras.
9-year-old Martir Garcia Lara is adapted to a new life in the small town of Temputitalpa.
“I was scared to be here,” he shared in an interview with Univision.
Lara is a student at Torrance Elementary School, and her detention sparked anger from teachers and community members who knew the boy.
On May 29th, he attended an immigration hearing in downtown Los Angeles along with his father, Martir Garcia-Banegas, 50.
Instead of receiving updates on their immigrant status, the boy and his father were detained by the US Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE). The next day, after a brief separation, they were transferred to immigration facilities in Texas and deported to Honduras.
9-year-old Martil Garcia Lara speaks to reporters Univision after he and his father were deported from Southern California and returned to Temput Tarpa in Honduras. (Univision) Martil Garcia Lala, 9, and his father, Martil Garcia Banegas, 50, speak with reporters Univision after he and his father were deported from Southern California and returned to Temput Tarpa in Honduras. (Univision) Martil Garcia Lala, 9, and his father, Martil Garcia Banegas, 50, speak with reporters Univision after he and his father were deported from Southern California and returned to Temput Tarpa in Honduras. (Univision) Martir Garcia Lara can be seen in photos of Torrance Elementary School. A letter sent by a PTA leader to parents at Torrance Elementary School about the detention of Martirulala and his father. (Jasmine King) Torrance Elementary School in Torrance, California. (KTLA) 9-year-old Martir Garcia Lara speaks to a university reporter after he and his father were deported from Southern California and returned to Temputialopa in Honduras. (Univision) Martil Garcia Lala, 9, and his father, Martil Garcia Banegas, 50, can be seen in photos of his family in Torrance, California. (KTLA)
An ICE official said on July 10, 2021, the boy and his father left their hometown and illegally entered the United States on September 1, 2022. Garcia-Banegas appealed the decision, but the appeal was dismissed on August 11, 2023.
However, the boy and his father did not leave the country as ordered, and they were taken into custody during an immigration hearing in downtown L.A., Ice said.
News of the juvenile detention brought teachers and community members together to find a way to help the pair stay in the country. Lara has been a student at Torrance Elementary School since first grade.
But federal officials said the father and son “tiring the legitimate process and there is no legal remedy left to pursue.”
A few days ago they landed in Honduras. The 9-year-old said he missed his life in Torrance and worked to adapt to his new reality.
“I want to see my friends again,” Lara said. “I miss all of my friends.”
The boy’s father said he hopes his case will be reconsidered in the future. In the meantime, he is working to provide his son with everything he can.
“They’re cruel to people,” Garcia Banegas said of the Los Angeles ice attack. “All-it’s inhuman.”
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