Judge Says ICE May Have Deported 2-Year-Old US Citizen Without Due Process

The DOJ says the child is in the lawful custody of the mother but the judge cites ’strong suspicion‘ the deportation was done without ’meaningful process.’

The Department of Homeland Security flag flies outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) headquarters in Washington on July 17, 2020. Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

A federal judge raised concerns on Friday that a 2-year-old U.S. citizen may have been deported alongside her illegal immigrant mother without receiving any meaningful legal review.

In a memorandum order filed on April 25 at a court in Louisiana, U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty said there was a “strong suspicion” that the child, identified in court records as V.M.L., had been removed to Honduras “with no meaningful process.” The judge scheduled a hearing for May 16 to determine whether federal immigration authorities violated the toddler’s constitutional rights.

The case stems from an emergency habeas corpus petition filed on April 24 by attorneys representing V.M.L.’s custodian, Trish Mack, who alleged that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) effectively held the child incommunicado—allowing no meaningful access to legal counsel or family—and rushed her removal despite being notified of her U.S. citizenship status.

According to a separate court filing, ICE officials allegedly promised to facilitate a legal call with the child’s mother within 24 to 48 hours, but instead placed the mother and children on a flight early the following morning, before courts reopened.

The petitioners have accused ICE of using misleading assurances to delay emergency filings and describe the agency’s actions as an effort to “secretly disappear” a U.S. citizen child without judicial oversight.

In its opposition brief, the Department of Justice (DOJ) argued that V.M.L. remained lawfully in the custody of her mother, Jenny Carolina Lopez Villela, and that no constitutional violation occurred. DOJ attorneys also noted that V.M.L.’s mother explicitly indicated in a handwritten letter that she intended to bring her daughter with her to Honduras.

Federal officials further argued that the child’s father and designated custodian failed to personally appear before ICE with valid identification documents to establish custody, making it impossible to release V.M.L. to them. They also contended that V.M.L., as a U.S. citizen, would retain the right to return to the United States at any time, mitigating claims of irreparable harm.

“Indeed, taking V.M.L. away from her mother and placing her in the custody of unidentified individuals would pose a greater risk of harm,” DOJ attorneys wrote in the filing. “It is therefore in the best interest of V.M.L. that she remain in the lawful custody of her mother.”

Attorneys for the petitioners argued that the mother’s note was not a formal waiver of the child’s independent constitutional rights, and they accused ICE of improperly preventing any real discussion between the mother and legal representatives regarding the best interests of the child.

“Respondents’ filing states that VML’s mother has made known that she does not want VML released from custody. That is emphatically NOT what the note says. The note states factually that V.M.L.’s mother ‘is bringing’ V.M.L. with her. This is not a statement of intent, hope, desire, or assessment of what is best for V.M.L.'” the attorneys wrote.

Doughty has not ruled on the merits of the case but made clear in his order that the court requires a full hearing to evaluate whether the child’s removal complied with constitutional and statutory protections, stating that a hearing is “in the interest of dispelling our strong suspicion that the Government just deported a U.S. citizen with no meaningful process.”

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE have not yet publicly commented on the case beyond court filings. The Epoch Times has reached out to DHS and the Justice Department with requests for comment.

The dispute over V.M.L.’s removal comes as the Trump administration faces legal challenges over its intensified immigration enforcement efforts.

Earlier this month, Attorney General Pam Bondi defended the deportation of Salvadoran national Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant and alleged MS-13 member, despite a standing court order protecting him from removal to El Salvador. While a federal judge ruled that officials had failed to follow proper procedures in Abrego Garcia’s case, Bondi argued his deportation was justified because of his Salvadoran nationality and gang affiliation.

Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said recently that President Donald Trump would consider deporting violent criminals who are U.S. citizens to prisons outside the United States—but only if it’s determined that such removals are legally permissible.