Immigration Judge Orders Levi Mendez-Maldonado Deportation After Death
An immigration judge in Charlotte, North Carolina, ordered Levi Mendez-Maldonado deported in absentia on 21 May, even though he had been murdered in November 2024. The order came after his lawyer told Judge Amy Lee that he was dead and handed over Charlotte-Mecklenburg police department records. Lee still found the records insufficient and continued with the hearing.
Charlotte hearing
Becca O’Neill, who was preparing to represent Mendez-Maldonado in his asylum case and deportation defense, attended the hearing on his behalf. O’Neill said the proceeding moved quickly and that the court treated the matter as a routine no-show. “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.”
Mendez-Maldonado was originally from Honduras and came to the United States as an unaccompanied minor at age 17. A death certificate for him was filed in late 2024, but the court order did not mention his death. Instead, the order said the respondent failed to appear and that no exceptional circumstances were shown for the absence.
Order and objection
O’Neill said the judge and the federal prosecutor continued without acknowledging the reason for his absence. “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, founder and executive director of Carolina Migrant Network, said, “It shows that even after death, you can’t escape deportation.” O’Neill added, “The system is designed to dehumanize noncitizens, especially if the noncitizens are Black or not white. You can see what happened in Charlotte last year, the violence and active targeting of these communities,” and, “These judges and attorneys don’t care.”
Charlotte immigration court
The Charlotte immigration court handles cases from North and South Carolina. In 2025, it granted legal relief in roughly 1% of cases, a rate that places Mendez-Maldonado’s order inside a court system already known for narrow outcomes. His case now stands as a record of a hearing that went forward after the respondent had already died.
Becca O’Neill received notice in December 2024 of a preliminary hearing for 21 May 2026, but she attended the 21 May session because the court had not withdrawn the case. The next step is not another hearing in this record; it is the effect of a removal order that was entered after the court was told the respondent was dead.
