Father of the crying Honduran girl says she and her mother weren't separated

The mother and daughter are currently in detention together, ICE says.

ByMeghan Keneally
June 22, 2018, 5:33 PM
A two-year-old Honduran asylum seeker cries as her mother is searched and detained near the U.S.-Mexico border on June 12, 2018, in McAllen, Texas. The asylum seekers had rafted across the Rio Grande from Mexico and were detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents before being sent to a processing center for possible separation. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is executing the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy towards undocumented immigrants.
A two-year-old Honduran asylum seeker cries as her mother is searched and detained near the U.S.-Mexico border on June 12, 2018, in McAllen, Texas. The asylum seekers had rafted across the Rio Grande from Mexico and were detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents before being sent to a processing center for possible separation. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is executing the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy towards undocumented immigrants.
John Moore/Getty Images

The father of the young girl from Honduras whose picture has become an iconic image of the immigration battle now says that his daughter and wife were never separated by U.S. authorities.

A picture of the little girl crying for her mother was widely circulated and while the photographer made it clear he didn't know the fate of the pair, the Trump administration's zero tolerance policy had separated many families in similar situations.

The girl and her mother, whose names were not initially released, were photographed after crossing the border in the Rio Grande Valley by Customs and Border Protection last week.

PHOTO: A two-year-old Honduran asylum seeker cries as her mother is searched and detained near the U.S.-Mexico border on June 12, 2018, in McAllen, Texas.
A two-year-old Honduran asylum seeker cries as her mother is searched and detained near the U.S.-Mexico border on June 12, 2018, in McAllen, Texas. The asylum seekers had rafted across the Rio Grande from Mexico and were detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents before being sent to a processing center for possible separation. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is executing the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy towards undocumented immigrants.
John Moore/Getty Images

The photographer, John Moore, said that he saw the pair were together when they were taken from the scene, but some groups started using the photo in relation to the policy that resulted in families being separated at the border.

Now Denis Javier Varela Hernandez, the husband and father of the mother and girl respectively, has told ABC News that the pair were not separated by U.S. officials.

PHOTO: A Honduran mother holds her two-year-old daughter while being detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents near the U.S.-Mexico border on June 12, 2018, in McAllen, Texas.
A Honduran mother holds her two-year-old daughter while being detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents near the U.S.-Mexico border on June 12, 2018, in McAllen, Texas. The asylum seekers had rafted across the Rio Grande from Mexico and were detained before being sent to a processing center for possible separation.
John Moore/Getty Images

He said that Honduran authorities told him that his daughter Yanela and her mother Sandra were not separated and are both in Texas.

He told ABC News that he has not yet been able to speak with his wife or daughter.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement that the woman, Sandra Maria Sanchez, was arrested on June 12 by agents with U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Border Patrol near Hidalgo, Texas while traveling with a family member.

PHOTO: A Honduran mother removes her two-year-old daughter's shoe laces, as required by U.S. Border Patrol agents, after being detained near the U.S.-Mexico border on June 12, 2018, in McAllen, Texas.
A Honduran mother removes her two-year-old daughter's shoe laces, as required by U.S. Border Patrol agents, after being detained near the U.S.-Mexico border on June 12, 2018, in McAllen, Texas. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is executing the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy towards undocumented immigrants.
John Moore/Getty Images

On Sunday she was transferred to ICE custody and is now at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas. Her immigration proceedings are ongoing, according to ICE.

ICE also noted that the mother was previously deported in 2013.

ABC News' Kirit Radia, Esther Castillejo and Geneva Sands contributed to this report.