Walto Deshommes had just walked his 2-year-old daughter into her classroom at a North Park Head Start when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents took him into custody outside the campus. The arrest, which happened minutes after drop-off, has left his partner facing their pending asylum case alone while their toddler was handed off to an emergency contact.
Deshommes was detained outside the Head Start program run by the Neighborhood House Association, according to 10News. He and his partner, Suze, have a pending asylum case, and Suze told the station the couple had been living in the United States legally under Temporary Protected Status until the Trump administration ended that protection in July. School officials confirmed the arrest took place outside the campus rather than on school grounds.
Wister Gaetan, who received a call from Suze the morning of the arrest, brought the toddler home and translated the interview with Suze for the station's report. Gaetan said school personnel received Deshommes's car key and identification when he threw them during the arrest — a detail that underscores how fast the encounter unfolded just steps from where families were dropping off their kids.
A Toddler Handed to an Emergency Contact
The Neighborhood House Association confirmed the arrest took place and said staff contacted the child's designated emergency contact, per the same account. The child was safely released into the care of an authorized family member, the nonprofit said, adding that it remains focused on providing the child with care, compassion, and stability and will not comment further on the family's circumstances. Founded in 1914 as a settlement house serving immigrants, the Neighborhood House Association has grown into one of San Diego County's largest social service nonprofits, running Head Start programs across more than 140 locations and serving over 250,000 children and families over the past four decades.
Despite her partner's detention, Suze remained committed to appearing at her immigration court date scheduled for Monday afternoon. Gaetan said she remained committed to doing what the law requires, even as she now faces the process without Deshommes at her side.
Why Agents Could Legally Operate Outside the Gates
The arrest was possible in part because of a policy shift made early in President Trump's second term. On January 20, 2025, the administration rescinded a Department of Homeland Security policy from 2021 that had designated schools, daycares, places of worship, and healthcare facilities as protected areas generally off-limits to routine ICE enforcement, according to the National Immigration Law Center. That earlier guidance had directed officers to refrain from enforcement near protected areas.
The end of Suze and Deshommes's Temporary Protected Status traces back to a Supreme Court ruling in June. In a 6-3 decision in Mullin v. Doe on June 25, 2026, the Court ruled that federal law bars courts from reviewing DHS's decisions to terminate TPS, lifting lower court orders that had shielded roughly 350,000 Haitian nationals from removal, according to the Legal Information Institute. TPS for Haiti had originally been established following a major 2010 earthquake. U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes issued an order on August 5, 2026, formally confirming that the injunction which had stayed the TPS termination — and had extended work permits and deferred deportation since February 2026 — had lapsed under the Supreme Court's ruling, per WR Immigration.
A Pattern Advocates Say They Are Watching Closely
Gaetan said advocates have noticed a pattern of ICE targeting Haitian community members who recently fell out of immigration status but still have pending cases. He questioned why people with pending asylum cases are arrested and separated from their children instead of being allowed to present their cases in immigration court. That concern echoes what Hoodline previously reported: advocates in August said ICE agents had detained Haitian gig-economy drivers mid-delivery after TPS protections expired.
The North Park detention also lands amid a broader deportation pipeline. A federal flight from Louisiana to Cap-Haïtien carried 161 Haitian nationals in the first post-TPS deportation flight, Hoodline reported.
School-Area Arrests Pile Up Across San Diego
Deshommes's detention was not an isolated incident. ICE agents detained two parents outside John Marshall Elementary School in the Chollas Creek neighborhood, drawing outcry from school officials and city leaders, according to KPBS. San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria issued a formal statement condemning that enforcement as cruel and calling on DHS to halt activity at or near schools during drop-off and pickup times, according to the City of San Diego.
KPBS also reported that U.S. Representative Scott Peters introduced the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act, which would prohibit immigration enforcement within 1,000 feet of schools, childcare centers, courthouses, and medical facilities except in true emergencies. Recent San Diego enforcement actions included the arrest near John Marshall Elementary and an ICE arrest near San Diego City College.
San Diego Unified School District has said it had zero confirmed reports of federal agents on its campuses following the December 2024 launch of its Protecting Our Students campaign, according to district records.
