NATIONAL NEWS – 2-year-old toddler and U.S. citizen deported to Honduras

Laila Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer

A federal judge in Louisiana scheduled a hearing taking place next month over a “strong suspicion” that the Trump administration deported a 2-year-old  U.S. citizen “with no meaningful due process.” In an order issued on Friday, U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty is pushing to get information as to whether or not the administration removed the child alongside her mother, who Doughty said is an undocumented immigrant. In his order, the judge showed how the court tried to reach the toddler’s mother on Friday, knowing that they were being flown out of the U.S. at the time, but was informed by the government lawyers that the woman could not be contacted. Doughty wrote, “It is illegal and unconstitutional to deport, detain for deportation, or recommend deportation of a U.S. citizen,” citing a 2012 deportation case. 

The family filed a petition on Thursday seeking the toddler’s release by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to a custodian appointed by her father. Immigration officers took the toddler, her 11-year-old sister, and her mother during a routine check-in with the “Intensive Supervision Appearance Program” on April 22nd. Later in the day, the father was only allowed to speak to her for less than a minute over the phone.