A judge at Charlotte’s immigration court on Thursday ordered the removal of a Honduran asylum seeker, even though he was killed more than a year ago.
Levi Mendez-Maldonado came to the U.S. from Honduras in 2023 at age 17, seeking asylum, according to his attorney, Becca O’Neill with Carolina Migrant Network.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police say Mendez-Maldonado was shot and killed on Revolution Park Drive in November 2024. He was 19.
O’Neill says she appeared in Charlotte immigration court Thursday morning for a scheduled hearing and informed the judge and Department of Homeland Security prosecutors that her client had died. She says she provided a CMPD press release identifying him, but the government would not agree to dismiss the case without an official death certificate.
Instead, immigration judge Amy Lee ordered Mendez-Maldonado removed to Honduras, according to the written order provided to WFAE.
“This strikes me as particularly dark because this person can't be removed since he's not alive anymore,” O’Neill said. “This is yet another example of they don't care about the safety of these individuals or about whether they live or die.”
The judge’s written order says Mendez-Maldonado failed to appear in court and was ordered to be removed. The order also states that any pending protections from removal were considered abandoned.
Charlotte’s immigration court, which handles cases from North and South Carolina, has seen removals rise sharply this year. Nearly 86% of completed cases through April ended in removal.
