A federal judge has voiced alarm after asserting that the Trump administration deported a two-year-old US citizen this week.
The New York Times has reported that US District Judge Terry Doughty, who was appointed by Trump, expressed concerns on Friday (April 25) regarding the potential violation of the toddler’s constitutional rights. The child was deported to Honduras along with her mother and older sister.
Since President Donald Trump resumed office earlier this year, he has rapidly implemented several executive orders and changes, including what has been termed as ‘the largest deportation in American history’.
However, Judge Doughty pointed out that the toddler, referred to as V.M.L in court documents, might have been ordered to leave the country without ‘any meaningful process’.
Earlier this week, V.M.L was participating in an immigration check-in in New Orleans with her mother and older sister, both of whom were born in Honduras, Jenny Carolina Lopez Villela.
The standard visit turned problematic when they were deported to Honduras, despite the child’s father, residing in the US, filing an emergency petition to gain custody of his daughter.
This action could have stopped the deportation of the child, who was born in New Orleans, to Honduras.
Despite the father’s readiness to care for his daughter, his legal representatives informed the court that he was denied communication with her mother to decide on further action.
Reports indicate that the father and mother spoke briefly for one minute on Tuesday, but the communication was constrained due to imposed time restrictions, leaving limited opportunity to discuss significant matters.
In response, the Trump legal team has reportedly claimed that Villela opted to take her daughter to Honduras.
They presented a note, purportedly in Villela’s handwriting and in Spanish, stating: “I will take my daughter… with me to Honduras.”
However, Doughty noted in his documents: “The Government contends that this is all okay because the mother wishes that the child be deported with her. But the court doesn’t know that.”
According to Politico, Doughty personally attempted to verify whether V.M.L’s mother had indeed expressed a desire to take her daughter with her. However, the Trump administration confirmed the family’s arrival in Honduras.
Consequently, a hearing is scheduled for May 16, as Judge Doughty stated he has a ‘strong suspicion that the government just deported a US citizen with no meaningful process’.