Emerson Colindres Deported Without Family After ICE Check-In
Nineteen-year-old Emerson Colindres Baquedano, a recent high school graduate and standout soccer player in Cincinnati, was deported to Honduras on June 18—just two weeks after being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during a routine check-in in Hamilton, Ohio.
Colindres, who had lived in the U.S. since the age of 8 and had no criminal record, was taken into custody on June 4 and held at Butler County Jail before reportedly being transferred to Louisiana. His family and supporters say they were not informed of his whereabouts until after his deportation.
His mother, Ada Bell Baquedano-Amador, and his sister—also under the same 2023 deportation order—remain in Cincinnati but were given 30 days to leave the country. “How is my son going to make it over there?” she told The Cincinnati Enquirer. “He doesn’t know anything, and the country where we come from is very insecure.”
Community Protests and Pleas for Mercy
The deportation sparked protests outside the jail where Emerson was held. Many of his classmates, teachers, and teammates from the Cincy Galaxy Soccer Club rallied, describing him as a role model and “one of the best kids” they’ve known.
Coach Bryan Williams, who accompanied Colindres to previous ICE check-ins, said the teen was handcuffed and taken away without explanation during his June 4 appointment. “Sadly, he’s not the only one,” Williams said. “There are a lot of Emersons in the same situation right now.”
Background on the Case
The Colindres family fled Honduras in 2014, seeking asylum from gang violence. Their request was eventually denied, and they were issued a final removal order in August 2023. Despite this, Emerson was placed under ICE’s Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP), a Biden-era initiative meant to avoid detaining low-priority individuals.
However, changes under former President Donald Trump expanded ICE’s discretion to deport anyone with a final order of removal—regardless of criminal background. Critics say this shift has led to a rise in sudden detentions of people like Colindres, who had complied with all ICE requirements.
Calls for Reform and Compassion
Department of Homeland Security defended the deportation, stating that “those arrested had executable final orders” and that ISAP is designed to “ensure compliance.”
Yet for Colindres’s community, the legal explanation isn’t enough. Teammate Joshua Williams said, “He didn’t do anything wrong. They just took him away.” Preston Robinson, another teammate, added, “He had a dream to play college soccer. It was possible for him.”
As Emerson begins life in a country he hasn’t known since childhood, his friends, family, and coaches continue to call on federal officials to reconsider the human cost of current deportation practices.
Stay tuned to developments from this tragic story with us on Que Onda Magazine.