A federal judge in Louisiana has raised serious concerns over the deportation of a 2-year-old U.S. citizen to Honduras alongside her mother, questioning whether any meaningful due process was afforded before their removal.
According to NBC News, U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty noted in an April 26 court order that government attorneys claimed the deportation was voluntary because the mother wished to take her child with her. However, Doughty wrote, “The Court doesn’t know that,” setting a hearing for May 16 to investigate further.
The child, identified in court documents as VML, was born in Baton Rouge in 2023 and is a U.S. citizen. Her mother and older sister were apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during a routine supervision check-in earlier in the week. Attorney Mich P. González, representing the mother, told NPR that ICE mischaracterized the mother’s consent and that she had been held at an undisclosed hotel, isolated from legal counsel and family.
Court filings allege that during her detention, ICE coerced the mother into signing a hastily prepared letter — written on hotel stationery — indicating her daughter would accompany her. Meanwhile, VML’s father, a U.S. resident, sought emergency custody to keep the child in the country, arguing her constitutional rights were violated.
The Department of Homeland Security maintains that the mother chose to take her child, stating that “it is common that parents want to be removed with their children,” as per DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin. Nonetheless, Judge Doughty emphasized the need to verify that claim, describing the events as casting a “strong suspicion” over whether a U.S. citizen was deported without appropriate legal safeguards.
The incident adds to growing scrutiny over immigration enforcement practices, particularly concerning the handling of minors and U.S. citizens entangled in deportation actions against their parents.
Suggested Photo:File:ICE Immigration Raid Scene.jpg
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