Agustin Locreto Flores, a longtime Montrose, Colorado, resident and father of five, was detained by federal immigration agents on July 2 while on his way to work. Just seven days later, he was deported to Nogales, Mexico—without a formal hearing or meaningful contact with his attorney, Renée Taylor, according to her account this week.
“He was never given a hearing,” Taylor said, calling the deportation a violation of due process.
A Rapid, Mysterious Deportation
Taylor says she scrambled to track Locreto Flores through the immigration system, learning he had been transferred from Grand Junction to Aurora, and then to Florence, Arizona. She contacted the Arizona detention center at 10 a.m. on July 9, only to be told three hours later that he was being prepped for deportation.
She protested, insisting her client was entitled to a bond hearing. But by the time the hearing was scheduled, Locreto Flores had already been deported.
“My client is entitled to due process and to have his bond motion heard before he can be deported,” Taylor emphasized.
The court ultimately denied the bond request, stating it lacked jurisdiction now that Locreto Flores was no longer in the U.S.
A Family Left Behind
Locreto Flores’ deportation has devastated his family—especially his young daughter, a U.S. citizen who is battling leukemia. He was her primary caregiver and the one who drove her five hours to Denver for her oncology treatments.
“He was a good guy,” said Maria, his stepdaughter. “He was a really good father figure.”
The family has been selling belongings—tools, his truck—to raise money for legal efforts. They even added $50 to his ICE phone account, but he never got to use it. After several days of silence, Locreto Flores finally called from Mexico using someone else’s phone to let his family know he was alive.
Legal Uncertainty
It remains unclear why Locreto Flores was targeted. A review of Colorado and federal court records shows only three minor traffic violations—none of which appear serious enough to trigger expedited deportation.
ICE has not responded to media inquiries. According to a recent Washington Post report, the agency has begun interpreting new rules to block immigrants from receiving bond hearings while facing deportation proceedings.
Taylor is now exploring legal options, including appealing the deportation and arguing for an exception based on Locreto Flores’ role in his daughter’s medical care.
“The government is not inclined to bring people back,” she said. “But if the child is sick, those are the cases they’ll sometimes make an exception for.”
Locreto Flores, 48, has lived in the U.S. for around two decades without documentation. His sudden removal has raised sharp concerns about due process, transparency in immigration enforcement, and the broader implications for families with sick children or U.S. citizen relatives.
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