Joanna's family had spent years building a life in Indiana around a roofing business, a home, church, and their two US-born sons. When her husband was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), keeping that life intact became increasingly difficult.
The family ultimately closed the roofing business and left Indiana for Honduras on 12 June 2026, after an immigration judge denied Manuel's request to cancel his deportation. Manuel was later deported to Honduras, where the family reunited. The family's account was independently documented in reporting and a public immigration-enforcement database.
The case highlights a less visible consequence of immigration detention: the person taken into custody may be only one member of a household, while spouses, children, homes, jobs, and businesses can also be affected.
A Roofing Business Became Hard to Sustain
Manuel, who was born in Honduras, had lived in Indiana for more than 15 years and ran a roofing business with Joanna, according to the family's account. Joanna is a US citizen, as are the couple's two sons. The family owned its home and two cars, while the children attended a local elementary school.
With Manuel detained, Joanna said she was struggling to keep the household and business operating at the same time. 'Everything's going downhill and we're at risk of losing the business, losing our house, losing our cars. And not only us, but everybody that works for us is at risk of losing [theirs] too.' The family's financial concerns eventually became part of a much larger decision about where they could live together.
Manuel's Immigration Case Changed the Family's Options
Manuel was held at the Clay County Jail in Brazil, Indiana, while his immigration case proceeded. An immigration judge denied his application for cancellation of deportation, according to the family's account. He was subsequently deported to Honduras.
The legal process was separate from Joanna's own immigration status. As a US citizen, she was not subject to the same removal proceedings as her husband.
That distinction left the family facing a practical choice: Joanna could remain in Indiana with the children while Manuel was removed, or the family could relocate to Honduras and remain together. Joanna ultimately chose the latter.
She said the immigration judge had concluded that she was well educated and could find work to support the children without her husband. 'I spent the day crying, trying to figure things out, process...that this was reality, was happening, [what] seems like a nightmare,' she said.
Indiana's Enforcement System Adds to the Pressure
The family's case came amid a broader expansion of immigration enforcement activity in Indiana. Gov. Mike Braun issued an executive order in January 2025 directing Indiana agencies to cooperate with federal immigration policies to the extent permitted by law. State and local authorities have also entered agreements allowing some law-enforcement agencies to participate more directly in immigration enforcement.
Immigration detention has also become the subject of federal litigation in Indiana. In March 2026, a federal judge in the Northern District of Indiana ordered that a Honduran immigration detainee at Miami Correctional Facility either receive an individualised bond hearing or be released. Those cases do not determine Manuel's outcome, but they illustrate the wider legal disputes surrounding detention and access to bond hearings in the state.
Two US Citizens Started Again in Honduras
On 12 June, Joanna and her sons travelled from Indianapolis to Honduras with minimal belongings, leaving behind the children's school, friends, and the community where they had grown up. The family planned to live with Manuel's relatives in Yorito, according to the family's account.
Joanna had also built a professional life in the US, including earning a psychology degree from the University of Washington. For the children, the move meant starting over in a country where they had not previously lived.
Manuel later described the family's departure as a major sacrifice. 'It hurts me a lot to leave Indiana. We had a very good life,' he said.
He also focused on what Joanna had given up to keep the family together. 'My wife has to leave everything,' Manuel said. 'All her life, everything that is her life.'
The family's experience shows how an immigration case involving one parent can produce consequences far beyond detention itself. In this case, the result was the closure of a business, the sale or preparation for sale of family property, and the relocation of two US citizen children to another country.
