HOUSTON --The father of a woman from Honduras is suing the U.S. government after his daughter died while on a flight of deportation to Central America.
Edelberto Herrera Alvarea, also the administrator of the estate of Sinitia Yadira Herrera Castro, filed a lawsuit Sept. 11 in the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas against the United States government. His initial complaint against the government was denied on March 16.
According to the complaint, after being detained by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Division of Immigration Health Services in the Laredo Center and then the detention facility in Houston, Herrera Castro was put on board a deportation flight to Honduras, where she was a citizen, June 18, 2012. The suit says her condition worsened while she was at the facilities, and her requests for help were ignored.
After complaining several times that she did not feel well, she died while on the plane in ICE custody, the lawsuit states, after receiving no medical attention or care while on the plane.
The plaintiff alleges the government and its agents were negligent and reckless in causing the death of his daughter.
Herrera Alvarea seeks $7 million and other relief as the court may deem proper. He is represented by attorney Richard W. Summers of Atlanta.
Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas Case number 4:15-cv-02631