Dead but deportable: US immigration judge signed order to eject teen murder victim
North Carolina judge said Levi Mendez-Maldonado failed to show up in court – even after being told he had died in 2024
TL;DR
- An immigration judge in Charlotte, NC, ordered the deportation of Levi Mendez-Maldonado, who had been murdered in November 2024.
- The judge issued the order in absentia after Mendez-Maldonado's lawyer presented police records of his death, which were deemed insufficient proof.
- Advocates argue this case exemplifies the dehumanizing nature of the immigration system, stripping dignity from immigrant communities.
- The Charlotte immigration court has a large backlog of cases and a low rate of granting legal relief.
- Mendez-Maldonado, an asylum seeker from Honduras, had legal representation and a pending asylum case at the time of his death.