Federico Arellano, a U.S.-born citizen, was shocked when he said his wife, Christina Salazar, and her four kids were suddenly deported. The family's attorney says they're working in Congressman Al Green's office.
It's something their attorney, Silvia Mintz, has never seen before. Mintz said Salazar has no criminal record, is married to an American citizen, and her newborns were born in the U.S.
"The holidays are coming up, and he thought he was going to have his family together. A great Christmas with the two newborns has turned out to be a tragedy," Mintz said.
Mintz said the situation didn't start out that way.
Salazar gave birth to twins three months ago.
The joy turned into fear because the twins came early, which caused Salazar to miss an immigration hearing.
"On Oct. 9, Christina didn't show up at her immigration hearing, and the judge didn't know that Christina didn't show up because of circumstances beyond her control," Mintz explained.
Weeks later, the attorney said that Salazar was told to go to the ICE office.
"When she shows up with the birth certificates, and her two baby twins, who are newborns, and the 2-year-old and the 7-year-old, they get detained," Mintz said.
The attorney said despite the babies needing medical attention, it didn't stop what happened next.
"Christina and her four children were removed with no clothes, with no extra formula, with no money," Mintz said.
The attorney said she'd never seen anything like this before, and she fears it could become more common as a new presidential administration takes over next month.
Even more alarming to her is that her children, some of who are U.S. citizens, would also be sent to Reynosa, Mexico.
"I don't have any family there," Salazar told ABC News (in Spanish). "I felt I was in a lot of danger because if they see you alone with four children, imagine. It was very difficult for me. I didn't sleep or eat while I was there because of how worried I was."
According to Mintz, Salazar ended up in one of the most dangerous Mexican border towns because of a miscommunication.
"This is the preamble as to what we can expect if the president-elect actually fulfills his promises of mass deportations where mixed-status families are going to suffer a lot," Mintz explained.
ABC reached out to ICE, but we haven't heard back.
Salazar and her four children are with family and have now made it to Michoacan, where one of her newborn daughters is being treated with oxygen because of complications from premature birth.
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