‘No US citizen child was deported’: Trump officials insist they’re following the law as 2 other youths shipped to Honduras — including a cancer patient

Lawyers for the families of 2 children with U.S. citizenship, including a 4-year-old who has Stage 4 cancer, person accused the Trump medication of deporting the youths to Honduras connected the aforesaid time another kid with citizenship was allegedly sent to the Central American country, which led to an bid from a national justice requiring the authorities to explicate itself.

President Trump’s borderline czar, Tom Homan, went connected CBS’s “Face the Nation” Sunday and insisted that “no U.S. national child” had been deported. He claimed that “deported means ordered by an migration judge” and suggested that the mothers whitethorn person chosen to instrumentality the children with them, saying: “That’s a parent’s decision. It’s not a authorities decision, it’s a parent’s decision.”

Reports emerged precocious Saturday and Sunday from The Washington Post and New York Times saying the 4-year-old and a 7-year-old had besides been shipped retired Friday with the kid that led to the judge’s memorandum in federal court.

As Law&Crime previously reported, a federal justice successful Louisiana known for his rulings that thin to align with causes championed by Trump issued a memorandum bid Friday mounting a proceeding to code the evident deportation of a 2-year-old identified lone arsenic V.M.L. According to a petition for a writ of habeas corpus — a petition that tribunal find whether a person’s detention is unlawful — V.M.L. was calved successful 2023 successful Baton Rouge, arsenic indicated connected her commencement certificate.

Lawyers for the parent of the 2-year-old told the Times that she and the different 2 kids were each deported to Honduras Friday. The Times reports that the parent of the 2-year-old is pregnant, portion the 4-year-old from the different household has a uncommon signifier of late-stage cancer. The lad allegedly had nary entree to his medications oregon his doctors during the removal process, the lawyers say.

Gracie Willis, a lawyer with the National Immigration Project who is reportedly progressive successful the lawsuit involving the 2-year-old, has condemned the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and section instrumentality officials arsenic being some “horrifying and baffling” arsenic the children are each considered “U.S. citizen” children.

Homan, however, says the authorities sees things differently.

“Having a U.S. national kid aft you participate this state illegally is not a get-out-of-jail escaped card,” helium told “Face the Nation” connected Sunday.

“It doesn’t marque you immune from our laws,” Homan said. “If that’s the connection we sent the full world, women are gonna support putting themselves astatine hazard and travel to this country. We nonstop a message. You tin participate [the] state illegally, which is simply a crime. That’s okay. You tin person owed process, large payer expense. Get ordered removed. That’s okay. Don’t leave. But person a U.S. national kid and you’re immune from removal? That’s not the mode it works.”

Speaking to NBC’s “Meet the Press” connected Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that if the children’s families privation them to travel backmost to the U.S. that they volition beryllium allowed to “if there’s their begetter oregon idiosyncratic present who wants to presume them” successful the United States.

“Ultimately, who was deported … was their mothers, who were present illegally,” Rubio said. “The children conscionable went with their mothers. But it wasn’t similar — you guys marque it dependable similar ICE agents kicked down the doorway and grabbed the 2-year-old and threw him connected an airplane. That’s misleading.”

A typical “next friend” of the 2-year-old, who says she has known her since birth, has filed a motion for a impermanent restraining bid (TRO) to artifact the child’s removal, accusing ICE of engaging successful “attempts to disappear” V.M.L. and lying to the child’s household and representatives successful the process.

At the clip the TRO question was filed, the girl’s representatives believed she was inactive successful the U.S.

In its opposition to the TRO request, ICE said the girl’s parent wanted to instrumentality V.M.L. with her backmost to Honduras, and provided arsenic impervious a note written by manus successful Spanish. Just similar Homan and Rubio, the authorities besides signaled skepticism that the child’s “next friend,” arsenic good arsenic V.M.L.’s father, were so who they said they were, saying they person not provided recognition to ICE successful enactment of releasing the kid into their custody.

In Friday’s order, U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty — appointed by Trump successful 2018 — said that V.M.L. is “ostensibly” a 2-year-old United States citizen.

“Of course, ‘It is amerciable and unconstitutional to deport, detain for deportation, oregon urge deportation of a U.S. citizen,'” Doughty concluded.

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Marisa Sarnoff contributed to this report.