Al Green/ Facebook
Emmanuel Gonzalez-Garcia, left, watches his mother, Maria Garcia, speak at a news conference with U.S. Rep. Al Green on Nov. 24, 2025.
Emmanuel Gonzalez-Garcia, a 15-year-old Houston boy with autism, was released from federal custody late last week after a weekslong separation from his mother.
After 48 days in the custody of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement, Emmanuel was released last Friday following a ruling from a judge ordering that the teen be reunited with his family. The boy had initially been reported missing on Oct. 5, after he was selling fruit with his mother, Maria Garcia, near the intersection of Clay and Hempstead roads, according to FIEL Houston — a nonprofit immigrant rights advocacy group that publicized Emmanuel’s case.
Speaking at a Monday news conference alongside FIEL representatives, U.S. Rep. Al Green, D-Houston, and the family’s attorneys, Emmanuel’s mother thanked those present for helping her be reunited with her son.
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“I am really grateful, with all my heart,” Garcia said through a translator. “We’ve been spending a lot of time together. On the 27th is the birthday of my daughter, which we are going to be celebrating. It’s been a lot of fun and, finally, he had chicken nuggets.”
Attorney Read Gonzalez, who works for the law firm representing the family, said Emmanuel was being held as an unaccompanied immigrant minor.
“The very basic argument in court we made was that they had no legal authority to keep him in custody, and we were very lucky that the judge did see the law,” he said. “She did agree with us and found that he’s not an unaccompanied child.”
According to FIEL, Emmanuel was found by Houston Police Department officers and later placed in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. During his 48 days in custody, Emmanuel also received surgery to remove his appendix.
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Gonzalez said Monday that his law firm would continue to fight for the family as they still have pending cases in immigration court. He declined to give details regarding their immigration statuses or immigration cases, but said it is unlikely that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would take the family into custody.
“I can say that’s a possibility [but] I don’t think it’s going to happen in this particular case,” Gonzalez said. “Once again, they’re not criminals. … We have a federal judge that already ordered the boy’s release. If they arrest the mother, they would have to take him also into custody and we have an order that would be contradictory to that.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE, said in a statement to Houston Public Media on Tuesday that Emmanuel was not arrested by ICE or in ICE custody and directed further comment to the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
The refugee resettlement office declined to comment on the teen’s case.
Emmanuel said through a translator Monday that he was thankful to be reunited with his family.
His mother said anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation should not back down.
“You need to fight your case and continue forward,” she said.