A federal judge in Louisiana has raised serious concerns that a 2-year-old US citizen was deported to Honduras without a proper legal process, despite efforts by her father to stop her removal.
In an order issued Friday, US district judge Terry A Doughty said there was a “strong suspicion that the Government just deported a US citizen with no meaningful process.”
According to the New York Times, the child, identified only as VML in court documents, was deported along with her mother and 11-year-old sister after being detained by immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) during a scheduled check-in at an ICE office in New Orleans.
Doughty, a Trump appointee, questioned the government’s claim that the mother’s wish for the child to accompany her was sufficient. “The government contends that this is all OK because the mother wishes that the child be deported with her. But the court doesn’t know that”, Doughty wrote.
Attempts were made by the child’s father to halt the deportation.
According to CBS News, after the mother and children were detained on Tuesday, the father filed an emergency petition to transfer custody to a family member. He also alerted ICE that VML was a US citizen, sending a copy of her birth certificate. However, officials allegedly refused to release the child and warned that the father could also be detained if he tried to pick her up.
Despite these efforts, when Judge Doughty sought to speak to the mother on Friday, he was informed that she and the children had already been released in Honduras. Court documents reveal that a handwritten letter dated Thursday night, signed by the mother, stated, “I will take my daughter … with me to Honduras,” but it is unclear under what circumstances this letter was obtained.
Child’s father said during a brief call with the mother, he heard her and the children crying, and reminded her that their daughter was a US citizen and should not be deported. Officials allegedly cut the call short.
VML was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on January 4, 2023, while her 11-year-old sister was born in Honduras.
As per CBS News, the mother had been attending regular ICE check-ins for four years under an intensive supervision program before this sudden detention and removal.
The Trump administration is already under fire for wrongfully deporting Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, despite a Supreme Court order mandating his return.
A hearing has been scheduled for May 16 to further investigate the deportation of VML.
Doughty emphasised the need for clarity, writing that the court must dispel its “strong suspicion” that a US citizen was removed unlawfully.
