U.S. Citizens Deported with Mothers, Raising Due Process Concerns

CHICAGO, IL — Three U.S. citizens, all children, were deported to Honduras last week alongside their mothers, according to advocacy organizations and family attorneys. The deportations included a 4-year-old child undergoing treatment for metastatic cancer.

The children, ages 2, 4, and 7, were detained during routine check-ins with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Louisiana, their lawyers said. Advocates claim these incidents highlight a troubling lack of due process in the current immigration enforcement climate.

Gracie Willis, a lawyer with the National Immigration Project, expressed concern over the deportations, stating, “We are seeing in real time due process eroded, and these cases illustrate that.”

One of the mothers had been attending a routine check-in appointment when she was taken into custody with her children. According to her attorney, Erin Hebert, this family was detained for about 24 hours without access to legal counsel before being flown to Honduras early Friday morning.

Hebert explained that the family had been specifically instructed to bring their passports to the appointment, but when they arrived, officials separated her from the family. “I was informed they had been detained, but I was not told where they were,” she said.

Another case involved a 2-year-old girl known in court as V.M.L. She was detained along with her mother and sister while attending a check-in. A federal judge expressed concern about the legality of the deportation, saying it is unconstitutional to deport or recommend the deportation of a U.S. citizen.

Both mothers had been issued deportation orders in their absence, meaning they did not attend court proceedings that led to these orders. “Something prevented them from being present at one single court date, and because of that, the judge entered an order of deportation for them,” Willis noted.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) condemned the deportations, arguing they represent a broader pattern of abuse by immigration authorities. “These are mothers, these are pregnant women. These are children with serious medical conditions who were checking in with ICE as instructed,” said Alanah Odoms, executive director of the ACLU of Louisiana.

In defense of the removals, Tom Homan, a Trump administration official, suggested the mothers made the choice to take their children with them. “If someone’s in this country unlawfully, that person gets deported,” he said during a press briefing. “We don’t deport U.S. citizens.”

A hearing regarding the 2-year-old’s case is scheduled for May 16, providing an opportunity to address the legality of her deportation.