Three American citizen children — among them a 4-year-old undergoing treatment for metastatic cancer — were deported to Honduras last week with their undocumented mothers, according to attorneys and civil rights organizations.
In one case, a mother and her 2-year-old child were deported. In another, a mother was deported with her 4- and 7-year-old children. The deportations were confirmed by groups including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the National Immigration Project in a news release on Friday.
Detained During Routine ICE Check-Ins
The families were detained during routine check-ins with immigration officials in Louisiana, part of the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP), according to their attorneys and court records.
Advocates argue that these deportations highlight a broader erosion of due process under the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
“We are seeing due process eroded in real time,” said Gracie Willis, a lawyer with the National Immigration Project and raids response coordinator. “These cases are a clear example of that.”
CNN has reached out to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for comment.
Court Had Warned Against Deporting U.S. Citizens
In the case of the 2-year-old, identified as V.M.L. in court records, a judge had set a hearing for May 16, stating that deporting a U.S. citizen is illegal and unconstitutional. Despite this, the child and her mother were deported after a routine ICE check-in.
The mother, although undocumented, had been living under supervision and complying with her required check-ins.
Second Family Deported Within 24 Hours Without Legal Access
Another family faced a similar fate. The mother and her 4- and 7-year-old children were detained during an ISAP check-in in Saint Rose, Louisiana.
According to their attorney, Erin Hebert, ICE officers were waiting for them. Hebert, who prepared a stay of removal in advance, was not allowed to accompany the family into the meeting. She later learned that the family had been detained but was given no information about their location.
Early the next morning, the mother and her children were placed on a plane and deported to Honduras — less than 24 hours after being detained.
“My clients were deported with no access to me,” said Hebert.
Government Cites Handwritten Note, Attorneys Dispute It
The government claims that the mother of the 2-year-old requested to take her child with her, citing a handwritten note allegedly written by the mother in Spanish. Officials like Trump border czar Tom Homan and Secretary of State Marco Rubio repeated this claim in public interviews.
Rubio said on NBC’s “Meet the Press”:
“If someone is here illegally, they can either take their U.S. citizen child with them or leave them behind.”
However, attorney Gracie Willis strongly denied that the mother voluntarily chose deportation for her child. She argued that the note was misinterpreted and that both mothers wished for their children to remain in the U.S., where they have family members and, in one case, ongoing critical medical care.
Advocates Raise Alarm Over Due Process and Humanitarian Concerns
Alanah Odoms, executive director of the ACLU of Louisiana, emphasized the dangerous precedent these deportations set:
“These are mothers. These are pregnant women. These are children — including a terminally ill child — who were law-abiding and following ICE instructions. If ICE can do this to them, none of us are safe from this kind of lawlessness.”
