In a troubling turn of events under the Trump administration, a federal judge has revealed that a two-year-old American citizen was deported alongside her mother without any substantial legal process, highlighting a growing concern over immigration practices.
This incident, along with a separate case involving the indefinite separation of a mother from her one-year-old daughter, illustrates a stark crackdown on immigrant rights—affecting not only undocumented individuals but also those with legal status and citizens by birth or naturalization.
Lawyers representing the affected families have insisted that their clients were apprehended during routine check-ins at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) offices, and they were not afforded meaningful opportunities to communicate with family members or legal counsel—raising serious questions about due process.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), National Immigration Project, and various allied organizations have condemned these actions, calling them a “shocking—although increasingly common—abuse of power.”
U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty in Monroe, Louisiana, expressed grave concerns over the case involving the two-year-old girl, referred to as VML in court documents, who was deported to Honduras with her mother, Jenny Carolina Lopez Villela.
Judge Doughty emphasized, “It is illegal and unconstitutional to deport, detain for deportation, or recommend deportation of a US citizen,” and has scheduled a hearing for May 19 to investigate this incident.
VML, alongside her mother and older sister, was taken by ICE during a routine appointment at its New Orleans office.
According to attorney Trish Mack, VML’s father has requested that Mack act as the child’s custodian, seeking the toddler’s return to the United States.
The father reported that he could hear his family crying during brief conversations, reminding them that, as a U.S. citizen, their child could not be deported.
However, federal prosecutors have stated that Villela expressed a desire to retain custody and accompany her daughter to Honduras, while also claiming that the man identifying as VML’s father had not complied with ICE’s requests for identification.
Federal prosecutors confirmed that VML is not barred from entering the United States.
This deportation was part of a larger trend observed in Louisiana, where advocacy groups note that a pregnant woman was also among those deported in this recent sweep.
The Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department have yet to respond to inquiries regarding these alarming deportations.
ACLU officials have stated that these actions represent direct violations of ICE’s internal directives, which call for coordination concerning the care of minor children when deportations are carried out, irrespective of their caretakers’ immigration status.
In a related incident in Florida, Heidy Sánchez, a Cuban-born woman and mother of a one-year-old daughter, was detained during a scheduled check-in with ICE in Tampa.
Her attorney, Claudia Cañizares, reported that Sánchez was held without any opportunity for communication and was deported to Cuba just two days later, despite the fact that she is still breastfeeding her daughter, who suffers from seizures.
Cañizares attempted to file an appeal against Sánchez’s deportation but was informed by ICE that she had already been removed from the country.
Sánchez is not a criminal and possesses a compelling humanitarian case for remaining in the U.S., according to her legal representation.
Adding to the alarm surrounding immigration policies, former President Donald Trump stated earlier this month that he wished to deport certain violent criminals who are U.S. citizens to prisons in El Salvador.
This comment has ignited further concern, particularly as it follows reports of the administration removing hundreds of Venezuelans and Salvadorans without court hearings.
Civil rights advocates have expressed that Trump’s proposals to incarcerate U.S. citizens in other countries are seen as unconstitutional by many legal scholars.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered that the Trump administration facilitate the return of Maryland resident Kilmar Ábrego García, who was deported on March 15 against a prior court order meant to protect him.
Recent opinion polls indicate that Trump is struggling to gain approval from voters, particularly regarding his aggressive anti-immigration policies and practices.
The patterns evident in these cases reveal deeper systemic issues within the immigration enforcement framework, prompting critical discussions about civil liberties, rights of citizenship, and the ethical implications of current policies.
image source from：https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/26/trump-administration-child-deportation
