WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump administration is facing renewed criticism after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was accused of wrongfully deporting young US citizens, including a four-year-old child battling cancer.
According to attorneys representing the families, ICE deported mothers and children from three families, with three of the deported children being U.S.-born citizens.
In one instance, a four-year-old suffering from a rare form of cancer and a seven-year-old sibling were deported to Honduras alongside their mother, who was born in Honduras.
The deportations occurred just one day after their arrest.
Another case involved a two-year-old American girl who, along with her pregnant mother and her 11-year-old Honduran-born sister, was removed to Honduras.
Meanwhile, in Florida, a Cuban-bornwoman-then — mother of a one-year-old American child and the wife of a US citizen — w, was also deported, leaving her breastfeeding daughter behind in the United States.
The incidents come amid a growing legal battle over the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policies. Critics argue the government’s enforcement measures have escalated too quickly and potentially crossed legal boundaries.
Lawyers representing the families allege the women were arrested during routine ICE check-ins and deported within three days, without sufficient access to legal counsel or the opportunity to consult with their families. They claim that the mothers were denied a meaningful chance to decide whether their U.S.-citizen children should remain in the country.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the National Immigration Project, and several allied organisations issued a statement condemning the deportations as a “shocking — although increasingly common — abuse of power” by ICE.
Gracie Willis, an attorney with the National Immigration Project, expressed concern over the lack of choice given to the mothers. “We have no idea what ICE was telling them,” Willis said.
“In this case, it has become clear that ICE did not offer them an alternative. These mothers were forced to take their children with them, even though there were loving caregivers available in the United States willing to keep the children here.”
Further scrutiny has been directed at the case involving the two-year-old girl. US District Judge Terry Doughty of Louisiana questioned the legality of the child’s deportation, stating that the government failed to demonstrate that the removal was lawfully conducted
A hearing is scheduled for May 16 to address concerns that a US citizen child may have been deported without due process.
Attorneys representing the child’s father maintain that he wished his daughter would stay with him in the United States. ICE, however, contended that the mother requested to have the child accompany her to Honduras — a claim that has not been fully reviewed by Judge Doughty.
The father’s legal team further alleged that ICE had suggested they were holding the two-year-old as leverage to pressure him into surrendering to authorities.
The controversy underscores the broader debate over the Trump administration’s immigration tactics and the human cost of its policies.
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