South Bay 4th Grader Detained By ICE: Report

TORRANCE, CA — The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained a South Bay student and his father during an immigration hearing last month in Texas, according to multiple reports Wednesday.

The boy, Martir Garcia Lara, and his father traveled to Houston, Texas, for an immigration hearing on May 29, according to KTLA5.. They were expecting an update on his father's immigration status, but they were detained and separated instead, according to the report.

SEE ALSO: NJ Mayor Arrested Protesting Controversial New ICE Detention Facility

It's unclear why Lara, a fourth grader at Torrance Elementary School, was detained at the hearing. ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Patch.

His detention alarmed his teachers, who reached out to the school's PTA to rally support for the child.

“He’s alone and he’s not able to return home,” Torrance Elementary PTA president Jasmin King told KTLA. "All we know is that Martir is just a fourth-grader who’s by himself, without his dad, without a parent, and just in a place that he probably doesn’t know, so we can only imagine what he might be feeling.”

PTA and community members lobbying for help from federal, state and local leaders to free the boy, The Hill reported.

“We remain committed to the safety and well-being of all our students and will continue to follow proper protocols as more information becomes available,” the Torrance Unified School District announced in a statement to The Independent.

The boy's arrest and separation from his family is not the only case to spark backlash across the Southland this week.

According to CNN, Federal authorities detained about 500 children since President Donald Trump took office.

A 4-year-old Mexican girl who receives lifesaving medical care from a Southern California hospital was granted permission to remain in the country weeks after federal authorities said she could be deported, her family's attorneys said Tuesday.

SEE ALSO: 4-Year-Old Facing Deportation Could Die Without U.S. Medical Care

The girl’s family said they were notified in April and May that their humanitarian parole was being revoked and they would be subject to potential deportation. They said the child likely could not survive if she were deported.

The girl was taken to a hospital upon arriving on at the U.S.-Mexico border with her mother in 2023 and released once she was stable enough. She receives intravenous nutrition through a special backpack for short bowel syndrome, which prevents her from being able to take in and process nutrients on her own, and lawyers said the treatment she receives is necessary at this stage for her to survive and isn't available in Mexico.

Her case was one of several humanitarian paroles granting temporary legal status under former President Joe Biden that the Trump Administration is revoking.

RELATED: ICE Targets Bay Area Immigration Courts, Multiple Arrests Made

The Associated Press contributed to this report.