Charlotte first-grader and mother detained by ICE in unknown location, father says
A 6-year-old girl and mother who live in Charlotte have been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in an asylum case involving a no-show judge and a fake lawyer, according to North Carolina immigrant advocates.
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The girl, Zoeh, is a Sugar Creek Charter School first-grader who lives in Charlotte with her father and her mother, Ydienays Dariana Dominguez, according to the grassroots advocacy group Siembra NC. Their location in custody is unknown, the group says. The father is holding a news conference in Charlotte on Thursday morning to try to bring the asylum case back in front of a judge.
“My wife and my daughter have been trying to do everything right,” said the father, identified by the name Anderson, in a statement through Siembra NC. “They deserve the chance to have their case heard.”
It is not clear where the mother and daughter are from or how long they have been in Charlotte. Siembra NC said Wednesday that they have been asking for asylum and following instructions. About a month ago, a judge never showed up to their scheduled virtual immigration court hearing, the group says.
After that failed hearing came a removal order.
According to Siembra NC, the family recruited someone to help appeal the order while Zoeh and her mother continued going to routine check-ins. The person “claiming to be their legal representative” never filed the appeal, the group says. So at a recent check-in, ICE took Zoeh and her mother into custody.
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Anderson waited for his wife and child in the parking lot until an ICE officer called his cell. The pair were being transferred to Texas, the officer said, according to the group. As of Wednesday, Anderson didn’t know where they were.
“Zoeh should be wondering about her next art project, practicing writing her letters, and enjoying these first mornings of fall air on her way to school – not sitting in immigration detention because the entire system, from the fake lawyer and the absent judge to ICE’s unconscionable practice of arresting school-age children, failed her,” Andreina Malki, defense manager with Siembra NC, said in a statement.
The news conference with Anderson, Siembra NC representatives and other local leaders will be held at Eastway Park playground at 423 Eastway Dr. on Thursday at 9 a.m.
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This is a developing story and will be updated.
This story was originally published September 16, 2026 at 4:43 PM.
