DHS Responds to Talarico Criticism Over 5‑Year‑Old Boy’s Deportation

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin countered Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico’s claim that ICE kidnapped a 5‑year‑old boy, Liam Tadeo, during a deportation. Tadeo and his father, Victor Martinez Nieto, were detained in Austin while traveling to a soccer match and later deported together from the Dilley Immigration Processing Center. Talarico said the child should have been in kindergarten, but Mullin stated that families are asked whether they want to be removed together and that ICE does not separate parents from children. The family’s attorney has been contacted by Fox News Digital for comment.