Trump administration accused of deporting 2-year-old US citizen without due process

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A federal judge has criticized the Trump administration for likely deporting a 2-year-old U.S. citizen without following due legal procedures. The child, identified in court as “V.M.L.,” was deported alongside her mother, despite constitutional protections for U.S. citizens.

Judge Terry A. Doughty stated that deporting, detaining, or even recommending deportation of a U.S. citizen is both illegal and unconstitutional. He expressed concern that the young girl may have been removed from the country unlawfully and has scheduled a court hearing for May 19 to investigate further.

The incident occurred when V.M.L.’s mother, Jenny Carolina Lopez Villela, was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during a scheduled appointment in New Orleans on April 22. Villela was with her two daughters, including V.M.L. and an older sibling, at the time of her arrest.

Trish Mack, acting on behalf of the child’s father, filed court documents alleging that he could hear his daughter and her mother crying during a phone call after their detention. He reportedly reminded Villela that V.M.L. is a U.S. citizen and, therefore, could not be legally deported.

Despite this, government lawyers argued that Villela, who has legal custody of the child, expressed her desire for V.M.L. to accompany her to Honduras. The prosecution added that the father, who claims custody rights, failed to appear before ICE when asked.

In their defense, officials claimed that V.M.L. was not harmed by being taken to Honduras because she remains a U.S. citizen and is not barred from returning to the United States. They insisted it was in her best interest to stay with her mother, who holds lawful custody.

Neither the Department of Homeland Security nor the Department of Justice provided immediate comments on the case.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) called the case—and another similar one—a troubling misuse of government power. The organization emphasized that ICE has internal policies requiring coordination for the care of minor children, even if their caregivers are undocumented.

This controversy comes as former President Donald Trump has made headlines with controversial remarks suggesting that some violent U.S. citizen criminals should be deported to prisons in El Salvador—an idea legal experts and civil rights advocates have strongly condemned as unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court has also recently intervened in another case, ordering the Trump administration to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who was deported to El Salvador in violation of a protective court order issued prior to his removal.