Dead but deportable: US immigration judge signed order to eject teen murder victim

Levi Mendez-Maldonado, 19, who was murdered in a shooting in North Carolina in November 2024. Photograph: Courtesy Becca O'Neill View image in fullscreen Levi Mendez-Maldonado, 19, who was murdered in a shooting in North Carolina in November 2024. Photograph: Courtesy Becca O'Neill Dead but deportable: US immigration judge signed order to eject teen murder victim North Carolina judge said Levi Mendez-Maldonado failed to show up in court – even after being told he had died in 2024 An immigration judge in Charlotte, North Carolina , recently ordered the deportation of a young man who was killed in 2024, citing his failure to appear in court. Judge Amy Lee ordered the removal of Levi Mendez-Maldonado in absentia on 21 May. Mendez-Maldonado, originally from Honduras, came to the United States as an unaccompanied minor at age 17 and was murdered in a shooting in November 2024. Becca O’Neill, a lawyer with the Carolina Migrant Network, was preparing to represent Mendez-Maldonado, a young father and mechanic, in his asylum case and deportation defense before his death. In December 2024, she received notice of a preliminary hearing for Mendez-Maldonado scheduled on 21 May 2026. Like all immigrants detained and processed at the border, he was immediately put into deportation proceedings upon arrival. This court date would have been an initial step in a process that takes years. What happened when a tiny school district refused to ‘bend the knee’ to Trump and ICE Read more O’Neill attended the 21 May meeting on his behalf. At the beginning of the hearing, she notified Lee of her client’s death. O’Neill presented the court with Charlotte-Mecklenburg police department (CMPD) records of Mendez-Maldonado’s death. According to O’Neill, Lee found the CMPD records to be insufficient proof of death, even though a death certificate was filed in late 2024. The Guardian has requested, but not received, a copy of the court recording. Lee’s office could not be reached for comment. The judge and the federal prosecutor continued with the hearing as planned without acknowledging the reason for Mendez-Maldonado’s absence, said O’Neill. “The whole thing probably took maybe five minutes. The attorney acted like we were talking about the weather. The judge didn’t take a moment to reorient herself after hearing he was dead.” The court order states: “Despite the written notification provided, Respondent failed to appear at the hearing, and no exceptional circumstances were shown for the failure to appear. Therefore, the immigration court conducted the hearing in absentia.” There is no mention of his death in the judge’s order, obtained by the Guardian. Flabbergasted, O’Neill did not contest the final order. “This is the banality of evil. All of this is so normalized and bizarre. Just a boilerplate order: he didn’t come to court, he didn’t demonstrate good cause. Well, he’s dead. And you know that because you saw a government website saying that he’s dead.” Stefanía Arteaga, the