The eight-year-old boy Iker Velázquez left Honduras along with his mother, fleeing violence.
They traveled 1,920 kilometers by raft, by car, and in a truck until they reached the US-Mexico border.
Both have received support from several organizations to avoid deportation.
The Honduran boy Iker Velázquez, known as 'Captain America', in Chicago (USA).The Honduran boy Iker Velazquez, known as 'Captain America', in Chicago (USA).LULAC / EFE
"Captain America," as everyone who knows Iker Velázquez, an eight-year-old boy who, along with his mother Evelyn left Honduras fleeing violence, called on Wednesday had an appointment "with destiny" before an immigration judge in Chicago (USA).
In 2014, at three years old, Iker, with Evelyn, left his country and undertook a feat worthy of the hero he imitates.
Mother and son traveled in twelve days a journey of 1,920 kilometers on foot, by raft, by car and in a passenger truck until arriving at the border of Mexico with the United States.
Since then both have received the support of several organizations to avoid being deported, but they hoped for hope in the court hearing on Wednesday where they could find a definitive solution to their lives, which is what they are waiting for.
The hearing, however, did not have a final ruling and the decision was postponed until March 10 next year because, it was argued, more witnesses need to be interviewed.
More than 50,000 'children of the border'
Iker has the support of dozens of supporters who will appear at the hearing before federal immigration judge Kaarina Salovaara, destined last year to the federal courts in Chicago by President Donald Trump.
As activist Julie Contreras of the National Immigration Committee of the League of United Latin American Citizens (Lilac) and a family spokesperson told Efe, Iker is the symbol of the 52,000 children who have been classified as the "Children of the Border".
Their cases, the activist added, are experiencing a notable bureaucratic delay due to lack of judges.
Many of these children were detained in makeshift immigration centers and in poor living conditions, Contreras warned.
"Do not be afraid"
Little Captain America, as Iker is called, gave advice to other children who, like him, face hearings with their families before a federal judge to settle in the United States and be far from gangs and violence.
"If other children are going to court, I would tell them not to be afraid and hopeful," said Iker, who lives in the city of Waukegan, in Lake County, Illinois, attends school and learned to speak. English.
Honduran boy Iker Velazquez, along with with his mother, Evelyn, and their lawyer, Christopher Helt, at the immigration court in Chicago (USA).Honduran boy Iker Velázquez, along with with his mother, Evelyn, and their lawyer, Christopher Helt, at the immigration court in Chicago (USA).LULAC / EFE
The boy's mother and his lawyer, Christopher Helt, related how Iker's love for Captain America, the superhero of the Marvel universe, emerged.
One day the little boy took a superhero doll to a court hearing, where he mistakenly activated the voice of the toy. He then expanded his vision of the character through books and movies.
On his eighth birthday the little boy dressed as Captain America to celebrate with family and friends.
New rules
The family lawyer told Efe that, if everything goes well, mother and son will receive their permanent resident card, known as a "green card," and they will eventually become U.S. citizens.
"I feel very confident, but, as everyone knows, the [President] Trump's administration changed the rules for requesting political asylum," Helt said.
The lawyer recalls that one of those rules is that now Central American asylum seekers have to make their request first in a third country.
"Iker and Evelyn are the reason why this country offers political asylum; first, they have a case of political asylum that should be granted without doubts in the judge's mind," said Contreras.
The year they left Honduras, criminal groups were attacking peace activists like Evelyn and her husband. When the couple's boss was beaten to death, both decided to go out with Iker so as not to be victims of brutal violence.
"This Wednesday we will be in solidarity with Iker and his mother and we hope freedom sounds for them," Lilac activist reiterated.
"Through his contact with books and films of his hero, he has learned words like freedom and oppression, words that I did not know at his age," said the lawyer who takes the case.
Judicial respite
On July 16, a regulation issued by the Trump Administration entered into force that prevents granting asylum to those who do not request it before in a "safe third country", such as Mexico.
The government tried to get the measure applied retroactively, but on Tuesday, California-based federal judge Cynthia Bashant stopped her feet.
In response to legal action by pro-immigrant organizations, Bashant determined that those who wait at the border for the result of their asylum request filed before mid-July will not be subject to the requirement of a "third country."
This ruling "will protect the lives of asylum seekers who were forced to endure extreme difficulties while waiting in dangerous border cities for months for their opportunity to apply for asylum in the United States," Erika Pinheiro, a lawyer for the Al Otro organization, said in a statement. Side.
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Captain America
