A federal judge has expressed concern after claiming that the Trump administration deported a two-year-old US citizen this week.
The New York Times reported that Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty expressed concerns on April 25 about potential violations of a toddler’s constitutional rights after she was deported to Honduras with her mother and older sister.
Since returning to office this year, President Donald Trump has swiftly signed numerous executive orders, including what has been called “the largest deportation in American history.”
However, Judge Doughty raised the issue that the toddler, referred to as V.M.L. in court documents, may have been deported without “any meaningful process.”
Earlier this week, the toddler was attending a routine immigration check-in in New Orleans with her mother, Jenny Carolina Lopez Villela, and her older sister, both of whom are from Honduras.
What should have been a simple visit turned into a nightmare when they were deported to Honduras. This occurred despite the toddler’s father, who lives in the U.S., filing an emergency petition to gain custody of his daughter.
Had the petition been granted, it would have prevented the child, who was born in New Orleans, from being sent to Honduras.
Though the father was “ready and willing” to provide a home for his daughter, his lawyers told the court he was denied contact with the mother to discuss the next steps.
Reports indicate that the pair were allowed to speak briefly on Tuesday, but due to strict communication limitations, their conversation was severely restricted.
In response, the Trump administration reportedly argued that Villela intended to take her daughter to Honduras.
They presented a note, allegedly written by Villela in Spanish, which read: “I will take my daughter… with me to Honduras.”
However, in court documents, Judge Doughty wrote: “The Government argues that this situation is acceptable because the mother supposedly wants her child deported with her. But the court cannot verify that claim.”
Politico reported that Judge Doughty attempted to confirm whether V.M.L.’s mother had actually expressed a desire to take her daughter with her, but the Trump administration confirmed that the family had already arrived in Honduras.
As a result, a hearing has been scheduled for May 16, with Judge Doughty stating that he has a “strong suspicion that the government deported a U.S. citizen without any meaningful process.”
