3 U.S. Citizen children deported to Honduras, legal concerns raised

HOUSTON - Three U.S. citizen children were deported to Honduras from Louisiana, sparking national outrage and prompting a U.S. District Judge to criticize the deportation process as lacking "meaningful process." The families involved are seeking legal recourse, with their attorney describing the situation as "shocking, surprising, and deeply troubling."

Families claim lack of legal options; judge questions deportation process

What they're saying:

Gracie Willis, an attorney with the National Immigration Project, expressed outrage over the deportations. She stated that the families had legal options that were not pursued due to being held incommunicado by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for three days. "This is a family that did have legal options available to them, and because of ICE’s actions, those options were not able to be pursued," Willis said.

What we know:

A Honduran mother and her two children were deported by ICE on Friday. While the mother and her older daughter had deportation orders, the 2-year-old girl is a U.S. citizen. Willis emphasized the unlawfulness of ICE's actions, stating, "It’s completely unlawful for ICE, an immigration agency, to detain or deport a U.S. citizen."

Speaking from Honduras, the mother reported that she was not given a choice and was instructed on what to do. Willis further criticized ICE's portrayal of the mothers' consent, stating, "These mothers were deprived of communication and any real alternatives by ICE."

Judicial Response

A U.S. District Judge has scheduled a hearing for May 17 to address concerns that the government deported a U.S. citizen without due process. The judge aims to dispel suspicions surrounding the deportation.

International Reaction:

Honduran President Xiomara Castro expressed support for the mother, pledging to follow the judge's orders and assist in any decisions she makes.

Additional cases

Another Honduran mother was deported with her two U.S. citizen children, ages 4 and 7. Willis hopes for cooperation with the government to allow these families to return for legal proceedings.

The backstory:

A federal judge in Louisiana said that a 2-year-old American citizen appears to have been deported "with no meaningful process." This comes as the Trump administration has faced growing criticism for its hurried proceedings to remove as many noncitizens from the country as quickly as possible.

"It’s the trauma, the situation that involves everybody. Is the way this is being handled. The government has this pressure by the Trump administration to deport, deport, deport, and all the humanitarian concerns around this are gone," Raed Gonzalez, an immigration attorney not associated with the case, said.

U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty wrote that the toddler, identified as VML, had been sent to Honduras on Friday, alongside her mother and sister, even as the court had sought to clarify the girl's status. 

"The Government contends that this is all okay because the mother wishes that the child be deported with her," Doughty wrote. "But the Court doesn't know that."

According to a lawsuit filed on VML's behalf, she and her family were taken into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody on Tuesday while attending a routine check-in with the mother's Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP).

What is Supervision Appearance Program?

ISAP is an alternative to detention for noncitizens who are in the country unlawfully.

The suit alleges that ICE agents repeatedly refused to give VML's father her location and denied him the opportunity to speak for more than a minute to VML's mother.

"V.M.L.'s father received a call from an ICE officer, who spoke to him for about a minute," the filing said.

"The officer said that V.M.L.'s mother was there, and that they did not have much time to speak to each other and that they were going to deport his partner and daughters. V.M.L.'s father was able to speak with his partner for only about or less than a minute. He heard his daughters crying and his partner crying," the filing said.

ICE Response

The other side:

FOX 26 reached out to ICE for comments on the deportations and allegations of families being detained incommunicado and the agency sent back this statement:

"This parent made the decision to take the child with them to Honduras. It is common that parents want to be removed with their children. Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children or ICE will place the children with someone the parent designates. In this case, the parent stated they wanted to be removed with the children. We take our responsibility to protect children seriously and will continue to work with federal law enforcement to ensure that children are safe and protected."

What's next:

Doughty set a hearing on the case for May 16 "in the interest of dispelling our strong suspicion that the Government just deported a U.S. citizen with no meaningful process."

Meanwhile Willis is hoping that these families are able to come back to the United States and fight their battle.

"We’re hoping that we’re able to work with the government. The government is able to parole people into the country for legal proceedings and that should be available to these families," Willis said.

Immigration