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It was a roadway marker that revealed their ultimate location: Alexandria, Louisiana.

They were transported in the cargo area of an federal transport truck – their personal belongings seized and passports held by agents. The mother and her two American-born children, one of whom battles advanced renal cancer, remained unaware about where immigration officials were taking them.

The detention

The household had been taken into custody at an immigration check-in near New Orleans on April 24. When denied access from contacting legal counsel, which they would eventually argue in court filings breached due process, the family was transported 200 miles to this modest settlement in central Louisiana.

"Our location remained undisclosed," the mother explained, responding to questions about her situation for the premier instance after her family's case received coverage. "Authorities directed that I must not seek information, I questioned our location, but they offered no answer."

The forced departure

The 25-year-old mother, 25, and her young offspring were involuntarily deported to Honduras in the pre-dawn period the following day, from a small aviation facility in Alexandria that has become a center for mass deportation operations. The site houses a specialized holding facility that has been described as a legal "black hole" by legal representatives with clients inside, and it leads straight onto an airport tarmac.

While the detention facility holds exclusively grown men, confidential information indicate at least 3,142 females and minors have traveled via the Alexandria airport on federal aircraft during the opening period of the current administration. Some individuals, like Rosario, are held in secret lodging before being deported or transferred to other confinement locations.

Hotel detention

She was unable to identify which Alexandria hotel her family was directed toward. "I just remember we came in through a garage entrance, not the front door," she stated.

"We were treated like captives in accommodation," Rosario said, adding: "The young ones would attempt to approach the door, and the security personnel would become angry."

Health issues

Rosario's child Romeo was identified with metastatic kidney disease at the age of two, which had metastasized to his lungs, and was receiving "consistent and vital medical intervention" at a pediatric medical center in New Orleans before his arrest. His sister, Ruby, also a US citizen, was seven when she was taken into custody with her relatives.

Rosario "implored" guards at the hotel to allow her to use a telephone the night the family was there, she reported in legal filings. She was eventually permitted one limited communication to her father and told him she was in Alexandria.

The overnight search

The family was awakened at 2 a.m. the following morning, Rosario said, and taken directly to the airport in a transport vehicle with additional detainees also confined in the hotel.

Without her knowledge, her legal team and advocates had looked extensively after hours to identify where the two families had been held, in an attempt to obtain legal action. But they remained undiscovered. The lawyers had made numerous petitions to immigration authorities immediately after the apprehension to prevent removal and determine her location. They had been consistently disregarded, according to legal filings.

"This processing center is itself fundamentally opaque," said an expert, who is handling the case in ongoing litigation. "But in situations involving families, they will often not take them to the facility itself, but accommodate them at undisclosed hotel rooms in proximity.

Legal arguments

At the heart of the legal action filed on behalf of Rosario and another family is the claim that government entities have breached internal policies governing the care for US citizen children with parents under removal proceedings. The directives state that authorities "are required to grant" parents "a reasonable opportunity" to make determinations concerning the "care or travel" of their young offspring.

Government agencies have not yet responded to Rosario's allegations legally. The Department of Homeland Security did not answer detailed questions about the allegations.

The airport experience

"When we arrived, it was a very empty airport," Rosario recalled. "Exclusively removal vans were coming in."

"Numerous transports appeared with more detainees," she said.

They were confined to the transport at the airport for over four hours, observing other vans approach with men chained at their wrists and ankles.

"That segment was distressing," she said. "My offspring kept inquiring about everyone was restrained hand and foot ... if they were criminals. I told them it was just standard procedure."

The flight departure

The family was then forced onto an aircraft, official records state. At around this period, according to filings, an immigration local official ultimately answered to Rosario's attorney – informing them a deportation delay had been rejected. Rosario said she had not consented at any point for her two American-born offspring to be removed to Honduras.

Advocates said the timing of the arrests may not have been random. They said the appointment – rescheduled three times without explanation – may have been arranged to match with a transport plane to Honduras the following day.

"They seem to direct as many detainees as they can toward that facility so they can populate the aircraft and send them out," commented a representative.

The consequences

The whole situation has caused irreparable harm, according to the legal action. Rosario continues to live with concerns about exploitation and illegal detention in Honduras.

In a earlier communication, the federal agency claimed that Rosario "chose" to bring her children to the immigration check-in in April, and was inquired whether she preferred authorities to relocate the minors with someone safe. The department also asserted that Rosario chose to be deported with her children.

Ruby, who was couldn't finish her school year in the US, is at risk of "learning setbacks" and is "experiencing significant mental health issues", according to the legal proceedings.

Romeo, who has now reached five years, was unable to access critical and essential healthcare in Honduras. He made a short trip to the US, without his mother, to resume care.

"The child's declining condition and the halt in his therapy have generated for her significant distress and psychological pain," the court documents state.

*Names of individuals have been changed.