CityBeat has confirmed the whereabouts of 19-year-old Emerson Colindres, who was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on June 4 during a routine ICE check-in.
Sgt. Kim Peters of the Butler County Jail confirmed to CityBeat that Colindres, an immigrant from Honduras and recent high school graduate, was transferred from the jail to a Michigan airport at 1:30 a.m. this morning. She said that ICE took Colindres from there.
Colindres’ attorneys filed a motion to stop his deportation on Monday. Hours later, his mother was informed that her son would be moved from the jail to an undisclosed location, according to sources familiar with the matter. Now those sources have confirmed Colindres was flown from Michigan to a privately run Louisiana immigration detention center, known as the Alexandria Staging Facility.
The detention center has been a favored transfer location for the Trump administration for high-profile ICE detainees, including Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil and other international students imprisoned for speaking out against the war in Gaza. Critics say ICE detainees are often moved to this location because the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New Orleans, is a less favorable venue for immigrants.
“The 5th Circuit is arguably the most right-wing federal appellate court in the country,” according to the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank.
The prison is also embattled for its treatment of inmates, which nonprofits have described as “a culture of abuse.”
Legal experts and immigration advocates have alleged the prison offers limited access to outside communication and offers inhumane conditions, including limited phone access, inadequate medical care and poor living conditions.
Colindres has no criminal record, was checking in with ICE regularly and had a pending visa application.
His mother, Ada Bell Baquedano Amador, is not speaking to the press right now. In a previous interview with CityBeat, she described the pain of being separated from her son.
“It is the most difficult thing I have ever gone through,” Amador said through tears. “I miss him so much.”
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Public reaction
Soon after receiving conformation from Sgt. Peters on Colindres’ transfer, CityBeat received a statement from Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio, the organization providing legal representation for Colindres, about his transfer. The organization described ICE’s treatment of Colindres as “extremely disturbing.”
“This sort of clandestine and frightening treatment of a non-criminal 19-year-old is extremely disturbing, particularly because Emerson in no way matches the description of those whom the government has stated are priorities for deportation,” the statement reads. “We stand in solidarity with Emerson and his family, joining the community in prayer and appealing for mercy.”
Continue reading for the full statement from Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio.
Colindres’ goal was to become a U.S. citizen, play college soccer and hopefully go pro. His coach previously told CityBeat that Colindres’ athletic ambitions were entirely possible, describing him as “the best player on the field every time.” His teammates organized a protest last night outside the Butler County Jail, the second such protest since his arrest. His case sparked national attention after a June 8 protest outside the jail drew hundreds of supporters calling for his release. CityBeat was there as crowds chanted “Free Emerson! Free Emerson!” Strangers to the family, close friends and former school teachers carried signs with the same phrase, many wearing shirts depicting Colindres playing soccer.
All this comes as President Donald Trump broadens his attacks on the noncitizen community, with senior ICE officials urging officers to increase arrest numbers to meet a quota of 3,000 arrests per day. One of Trump’s biggest campaign promises was to carry out “the largest deportation program of criminals in the history of America,” but his administration has not made public the number of ICE arrests involving noncitizens without a criminal record.
In a previous story about ICE arrests in Cincinnati’s west-side neighborhoods, U.S. Representative Greg Landsman (D-OH) told CityBeat this level of enforcement isn’t reflective of what Americans want.
“Most people wanted border security and immigration reform, not the chaos and cruelty we’ve seen so far,” Landsman said. “There’s bipartisan support to hire more judges, but they seem to be okay defying court orders and the Constitution. It’s frustrating because of what it’s doing to our communities, but also because there is bipartisan support for real reform and the kind of action that will solve our border and immigration issues.”
Background on Colindres’ immigration status
Colindres has lived in Cheviot with his mother and 16-year-old sister since arriving in the U.S. in 2014. Amador said her family fled Honduras due to a “lack of safety.”
Looking ahead to the future, the family hoped their asylum case would put them on a stronger path to American citizenship. But in 2019, the family’s asylum case was denied, so they appealed. An order of removal was issued for the family, but that doesn’t mean they were required to self-deport. CityBeat confirmed the legal nuance with an immigration attorney who declined to speak on the record. Under the law, it is up to the Attorney General to remove noncitizens from the country who have an order of removal or subject them to supervision conditions. In Amador’s case, ICE approved the latter for her family. They were told to attend routine check-ins with immigration officials, and Amador, who has no criminal record, was given an ankle monitor.
“For the past 11 years, I have done every single thing that is asked of me,” Amador told CityBeat in a previous interview. “I’ve been at every [immigration] appointment, I’ve answered every phone call. There has not been a single thing they’ve asked of me that I failed to do. Everything they asked I say, ‘Yes, yes, yes, yes.’”
Their asylum appeal was denied in 2023, but they’ve had a separate application pending for U nonimmigrant status, also known as a U-visa. The program grants legal status for noncitizens and qualifying family members who have been victims of certain crimes here in the United States, according to ICE. Applicants can still be granted a U-visa even if they have a removal order or check-in agreement with ICE.
Read the full statement from Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio below:
Emerson has lived in the United States for the past 11 years, having been brought here at the age of 8. Since then, he has had no criminal record, contributed meaningfully to his community and followed the directions of immigration authorities to date. Without warning, federal immigration authorities detained him during a recent check-in appointment.
This morning, we learned that he was transferred from Butler County jail to an undisclosed location, but, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has not provided any information to us about his current whereabouts at this time despite ongoing repeated attempts from his attorney.
This sort of clandestine and frightening treatment of a non-criminal 19-year-old is extremely disturbing, particularly because Emerson in no way matches the description of those whom the government has stated are priorities for deportation. We stand in solidarity with Emerson and his family, joining the community in prayer and appealing for mercy.
Earlier this week, during their gathering in San Diego, the Catholic Bishops issued a statement emphasizing the significance of our local efforts in this matter:
Law enforcement actions aimed at preserving order and ensuring community security are necessary for the common good. However, the current efforts go well beyond those with criminal histories. In the context of a gravely deficient immigration system, the mass arrest and removal of our neighbors, friends and family members on the basis of immigration status alone, particularly in ways that are arbitrary or without due process, represent a profound social crisis before which no person of good will can remain silent. The situation is far from the communion of life and love to which this nation of immigrants should strive.
The U.S. Catholic Bishops inspired by the leadership of Pope Leo XIV announce, “Count on the commitment of all of us to stand with you in this challenging hour.”
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This article appears in Jun 11-24, 2025.