U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was set to deport a double amputee to Honduras without one of his prosthetic limbs, until The Daily Beast reported the man’s story.
After his left arm and leg were amputated when he fell from a train carrying him northward, 36-year-old Victor Antonio Valladares Diaz spent two years recovering in a Mexican hospital before he was well enough to reach the U.S. border in December 2017. Despite passing a credible fear interview, Valladares Diaz has been held in a privately run detention center ever since, where his prosthetic limbs were taken from him after being damaged during his apprehension.
As a result, Valladares Diaz was confined to a wheelchair for nearly half a year, and even faced disciplinary actions for not being able to stand, according to his attorneys.