Trump Admin. Deports 2-Year-old US Citizen: What to Know

The Trump administration has deported a 2-year-old U.S. citizen to Honduras alongside her mother and sister.

The judge in the case has warned that the deportation was carried out “with no meaningful process” but the Trump administration argues the deportation was carried out according to the wishes of the mother, who had asked officials to be able to take her daughter with her to Honduras.

Newsweek has contacted the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security for comment via email.

Why It Matters

Since beginning his second term, President Donald Trump has pursued an aggressive immigration agenda centered on mass deportations, stricter enforcement and cutting legal immigration pathways. The sweeping actions have reignited debate not only about immigration policy, but also about who gets to stay in the United States and under what conditions.

Polls released since Trump began his second term have indicated that Americans are largely supportive of Trump’s immigration agenda but the tide may be turning. An AP-NORC poll conducted between April 17 and April 21 among 1,260 adults found that 53 percent disapproved of his immigration policy. An ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll, conducted between April 18 to 22 among 3,634 respondents, also found that Americans are slightly more disapproving (53 percent) than approving (46 percent) of Trump’s handling of immigration.

What Has Happened?

Court documents reveal that a two-year-old U.S. citizen, identified as “V.M.L.,” was deported to Honduras on Friday along with her Honduran-born mother and sister after they were detained earlier in the week by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.

According to filings, the child—born in New Orleans in 2023, as shown by a redacted U.S. birth certificate submitted to the court—had accompanied her mother and sister to a routine immigration check-in at ICE’s New Orleans office on Tuesday, where all three were detained and scheduled for deportation.

Upon learning of his family’s detention, V.M.L.’s father contacted ICE through his lawyer to inform them that his daughter was a U.S. citizen and could not legally be deported.

“Around 7:30 p.m. the same day, V.M.L.’s father received a call from an ICE officer, who spoke to him for about a minute,” a court filing states. “The officer said that V.M.L.’s mother was there, and that they did not have much time to speak to each other and that they were going to deport his partner and daughters.”

In an effort to halt the deportation of the two daughters, the father Tuesday filed for a temporary transfer of legal custody, which under Louisiana law would give his sister-in-law, a U.S. citizen who resides in Baton Rouge, custody of both.

On Thursday, an attorney for a family friend—who had been given provisional custody of the child—filed a request for a temporary restraining order, urging the court to immediately release V.M.L. arguing she was suffering “irreparable harm” while detained.

In response, Justice Department lawyers argued that it was in the child’s best interest to remain in her mother’s legal custody and dismissed concerns about her status, writing, “V.M.L. is not prohibited from entering the United States.”

Trump administration officials told the court that the mother had informed ICE officials she wished to take V.M.L. with her to Honduras, submitting a handwritten Spanish-language note they claimed confirmed her intent.

The American Civil Liberties Union, commenting on the case and others, said that the deportations of V.M.L. and two other U.S. citizen children had occurred “under deeply troubling circumstances that raise serious due process concerns.”

What Are the Arguments?

Lawyers for the family filed an emergency petition Thursday, asking the court to order the child’s “immediate release” by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, saying they “lack any statutory or constitutional authority” to detain her as a U.S. citizen.

However, the Justice Department argued “V.M.L. is not prohibited from entering the United States” and is not “at risk of irreparable harm because she is a U.S. citizen.”

According to court documents, the Trump administration says the child was deported with her mother because “the mother wishes that the child be deported with her.”

But the document also stated, “the Court doesn’t know that.”

According to court filings the child was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in January 2023. The exact immigration status of the girl’s father, mother and sister were unclear.

What Has the Judge Said?

In an order Friday, Judge Terry Doughty of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana wrote there was a “strong suspicion that the Government just deported a U.S. citizen with no meaningful process.”

“It is illegal and unconstitutional to deport, detain for deportation, or recommend deportation of a U.S. citizen,” Doughty said.

What People Are Saying

Teresa Reyes-Flores, Southeast Dignity not Detention Coalition: “ICE’s actions show a blatant violation of due process and basic human rights. The families were disappeared, cut off from their lawyers and loved ones, and rushed to be deported, stripping their parents of the chance to protect their U.S. citizen children.”

Alanah Odoms, Executive Director of the ACLU of Louisiana: “Once again, the government has used deceptive tactics to deny people their rights. These outrageous actions must be condemned. We as a nation are better than this. These families deserve better. They must be returned.”

What Happens Next

It is unclear when the next court date will be scheduled.