Judge Slams ICE After American Toddlers Allegedly Deported
It sounds like something that shouldn't be possible — American children, born in the USA, placed on a plane to Honduras in the middle of a deportation operation. But that's exactly what happened last week, when three U.S. citizen kids — ages 2, 4, and 7 — were taken from Louisiana and flown out of the country with their undocumented mothers. One child is currently fighting metastatic cancer. According to family lawyers, ICE officers gave the women no choice in the matter — and no access to legal help before the removal.
Immigration officials say the mothers chose to bring their children. Attorneys say that claim is false — and that the children had lawful custodians in the U.S. who were ready to care for them.
Who Are the Children and Where Are They Now?
The three children, all born in Louisiana, are:
- A 2-year-old girl, identified in court as V.M.L., removed with her pregnant mother on April 22 during a check-in at an ICE field office in New Orleans
- A 4-year-old boy in active treatment for Stage 4 cancer, sent to Honduras without medication
- A 7-year-old girl, the sister of the cancer patient, removed alongside her brother and mother on April 24
According to court documents and statements from their attorneys, the children were taken during routine appointments as part of the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP), a protocol for tracking undocumented immigrants with pending deportation orders.
Within 24 hours of being detained, both families were flown to Honduras. The children's fathers remain in the U.S.
The Parental Consent Controversy
The Trump administration and ICE officials say the children were not deported — and that they simply traveled with their mothers who had been ordered removed. Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, said, "We're keeping families together," he said. "What we did was remove children with their mothers who requested the children depart with them. There's a parental decision," as reported by The BBC.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio backed that stance, calling the story "misleading" and asserting that the children were never deported but left voluntarily with their mothers, as reported by Rolling Stone.
But attorneys for both families say the mothers were denied access to legal counsel, were never given any real choice, and were forced into taking their children with them. They claim the government's version of events is inaccurate — and in some cases, demonstrably false.
One mother was allegedly forced to sign a handwritten statement on hotel stationery claiming she would take her daughter to Honduras. Lawyers say the letter was written under duress, blacked out to hide identifying information, and was never an expression of free will.
Legal Blowback and Medical Concerns
The most troubling case may be that of the 4-year-old boy with Stage 4 metastatic cancer. According to his attorney, he was in the middle of treatment and had been scheduled for additional medical care in the U.S. After being detained, ICE officials allegedly removed him from the country without consulting his doctors and without providing medication.
A federal judge in Louisiana expressed serious concern about how the removals were carried out, particularly in the case of the 2-year-old V.M.L. In a court order, the judge said he had a "strong suspicion that the government just deported a U.S. citizen with no meaningful process" and it is "illegal and unconstitutional to deport" a U.S. citizen, as reported by Rolling Stone.
That case is now headed for a hearing scheduled for May 16. The legal question is straightforward — if these children are citizens, did the government violate their constitutional rights by removing them?
What Is the Government's Position?
In public statements and media appearances, Trump administration officials maintain that the mothers were fully informed and that no deportation of U.S. citizens occurred. Instead, they describe the removals as voluntary travel alongside deported parents.
However, attorneys involved in both cases say there was no transparency and no opportunity for intervention. In both instances, lawyers say they were preparing legal motions to prevent the removals — but ICE moved so fast that the families were already in Honduras before the motions could be filed.
In one case, a mother was detained after being asked to bring her children and their passports to a check-in. Her attorney, who was present, said she was not allowed to join the meeting. Within minutes, her client had disappeared. Hours later, the entire family was on a flight out of the country, according to CNN.
A Broader Immigration Push — With Lower Numbers?
This incident comes as part of a broader campaign by the Trump administration to increase immigration enforcement. During the 2024 campaign, Trump promised to launch "the largest deportation operation in American history," as reported by Scripps News.
But the numbers tell a different story. Despite public raids, military transport, and high-profile ICE operations, data shows that overall deportations have not increased significantly. In fact, they remain below levels recorded during the Biden administration.
Tom Homan attributes the lag to a drop in border crossings — not a lack of action. "We're down border crossings 96 percent, so we don't have millions of people coming across the border," Homan said, as reported by Scripps News.
Still, the administration has touted aggressive ICE raids and arrests, including one recent Colorado Springs operation that netted over 100 undocumented immigrants, according to the DEA.
What Happens Now?
The children remain in Honduras, but the legal battle is far from over. Hearings have been scheduled, and attorneys are continuing efforts to bring the kids back to the U.S.
Whether the removals violated the Constitution is now in the hands of the federal courts. For now, families are left separated — and one sick child remains far from his medical team, facing a life-threatening illness in a country he's never called home.
The outcome of these cases could set the tone for how far immigration enforcement can go when it comes to the rights of U.S.-born children — and whether citizenship is enough to keep them here.
References: Three US citizen children, one with cancer, deported to Honduras, lawyers say — BBC | Lawyers for Deported U.S. Citizen Kids Say Moms Were 'Coerced' Into Taking Them — Rolling Stone | 3 children who are US citizens — including one with cancer — deported with their mothers, lawyers and advocacy groups say — CNN | Numbers show no mass deportation of migrants, despite Trump immigration crackdown — Scripps News
