A 19-year-old soccer star has spoken out for the first time after being deported from the United States to Honduras.
Emerson Colindres, an aspiring professional soccer player, was arrested, detained and eventually deported just weeks after he graduated from high school in Cincinnati.
The teen reportedly has no criminal record but was held in the Butler County Jail for a couple of weeks before being flown back to Honduras on Wednesday.
According to reports, Colindres was detained in front of his mother on June 4 during a routine check with immigration officials.
Ada Bell Baquedano Amador detailed what the ICE agents told her son ahead of his deportation.
‘He said: “Mom, you’ll never imagine the questions they were asking me. They asked if I knew where I was going. If I had family here, I didn’t know what to tell them,’ she told FOX19 NOW.
Emerson Colindres (right) was arrested, detained and eventually deported to Honduras
Protests were held earlier this month calling on the authorities to release Colindres
“‘I left Honduras when I was 8. I don’t remember anything.”‘ That was her first interaction with him since his detention.
Now back in Honduras, Colindres told FOX19 NOW that ‘what hurt the most’ was being arrested in front of his mother.
‘I told myself I would never be in the position to where my mom would have to see me in handcuffs or in jail, and then when she looked at me, she was lost.
‘She couldn’t speak. But that’s one of the most painful things I went through because I’ve never been separated from my mom ever.’
The family arrived in the US in 2014 but their application for asylum was denied. They were given a final removal order in 2023.
‘I miss my mom,’ Colindres said. ‘I miss my sister. I want to see them. When am I going to see them?
‘I was just sad, I was really sad. Obviously, I’m going to push through it because I have to, but I was just sad. I just need to see my mom and my sister. I miss them a lot.’
His mom and sister are said to be flying back to Honduras on Monday, having also been given a deportation order.
