Trump administration goes after 2-year-old amid immigration crackdown
3 Min Read
A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration deported a two-year-old US citizen without due process, highlighting tensions between immigration policies and the judiciary.
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A deportation officer with Enforcement and Removal Operations in the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's New York City field office conducts a brief before an early morning operation, on December 17, 2024 (AP)
A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration deported a two-year-old US citizen without due process, highlighting ongoing tensions between the White House's immigration policies and the judiciary, as the child's father seeks her return.
US District Judge Terry Doughty in Monroe, Louisiana, stated that the girl, identified as VML in court documents, was deported alongside her mother.
“It is illegal and unconstitutional to deport, detain for deportation, or recommend deportation of a US citizen,” the judge expressed.
No meaningful due process
A hearing was set for May 19, “in the interest of dispelling our strong suspicion that the government just deported a US citizen with no meaningful process."
VML was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Tuesday, along with her mother, Jenny Carolina Lopez Villela, and older sister, when Villela attended a routine appointment at the ICE office in New Orleans.
Immigrants with ongoing cases, pending appeals, or parole have traditionally been required to check in with ICE officers regularly, sometimes for years. As long as they hadn't violated regulations or committed crimes, they typically faced little trouble. However, with the Trump administration's push for mass arrests and deportations, these once routine check-ins have become increasingly tense.
Prosecutors stated that Villela, who has legal custody, informed ICE that she intended to retain custody of VML and take her to Honduras. They also noted that the man claiming to be VML’s father had failed to present himself to ICE, despite multiple requests.
'Abuse of power'
According to Trump administration officials, it was determined that it was in the child's best interest to remain with her mother.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) called the case a "shocking...abuse of power," adding that such actions violate ICE's "written and informal directives, which mandate coordination for the care of minor children with willing caretakers – regardless of immigration status – when deportations are being carried out."
Donald Trump recently proposed deporting what he alleges are violent US citizen criminals to El Salvadoran prisons, a plan that followed his removal of hundreds of Venezuelans and Salvadorans without court hearings.
His comments about sending US citizens abroad for incarceration have raised concerns among civil rights advocates and legal scholars, with some considering it unconstitutional.
