{"id":143839,"date":"2026-06-03T17:53:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T20:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/dead-but-deportable-us-immigration-judge-signed-order-to-eject-teen-murder-victim-us-immigration\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T17:53:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T20:53:06","slug":"dead-but-deportable-us-immigration-judge-signed-order-to-eject-teen-murder-victim-us-immigration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/en\/dead-but-deportable-us-immigration-judge-signed-order-to-eject-teen-murder-victim-us-immigration\/","title":{"rendered":"Dead but deportable: US immigration judge signed order to eject teen murder victim | US immigration"},"content":{"rendered":"

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An immigration judge in Charlotte, North Carolina<\/a>, recently ordered the deportation of a young man who was killed in 2024, citing his failure to appear in court.<\/p>\n

Judge Amy Lee ordered the removal of Levi Mendez-Maldonado in absentia on 21 May. Mendez-Maldonado, originally from Honduras, came to the United States as an unaccompanied minor at age 17 and was murdered in a shooting<\/a> in November 2024.<\/p>\n

Becca O\u2019Neill, a lawyer with the Carolina Migrant Network, was preparing to represent Mendez-Maldonado, a young father and mechanic, in his asylum case and deportation defense before his death.<\/p>\n

In December 2024, she received notice of a preliminary hearing for Mendez-Maldonado scheduled on 21 May 2026. Like all immigrants detained and processed at the border, he was immediately put into deportation proceedings upon arrival. This court date would have been an initial step in a process that takes years.<\/p>\n

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O\u2019Neill attended the 21 May meeting on his behalf. At the beginning of the hearing, she notified Lee of her client\u2019s death. O\u2019Neill presented the court with Charlotte-Mecklenburg police department (CMPD) records of Mendez-Maldonado\u2019s death. According to O\u2019Neill, Lee found the CMPD records to be insufficient proof of death, even though a death certificate was filed in late 2024. The Guardian has requested, but not received, a copy of the court recording. Lee\u2019s office could not be reached for comment.<\/p>\n

The judge and the federal prosecutor continued with the hearing as planned without acknowledging the reason for Mendez-Maldonado\u2019s absence, said O\u2019Neill.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole thing probably took maybe five minutes. The attorney acted like we were talking about the weather. The judge didn\u2019t take a moment to reorient herself after hearing he was dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

The court order states: \u201cDespite the written notification provided, Respondent failed to appear at the hearing, and no exceptional circumstances were shown for the failure to appear. Therefore, the immigration court conducted the hearing in absentia.\u201d There is no mention of his death in the judge\u2019s order, obtained by the Guardian.<\/p>\n

Flabbergasted, O\u2019Neill did not contest the final order.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the banality of evil. All of this is so normalized and bizarre. Just a boilerplate order: he didn\u2019t come to court, he didn\u2019t demonstrate good cause. Well, he\u2019s dead. And you know that because you saw a government website saying that he\u2019s dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stefan\u00eda Arteaga, the founder and executive director of Carolina Migrant Network, said: \u201cIt shows that even after death, you can\u2019t escape deportation.\u201d<\/p>\n