Immigration and Customs Enforcement last week removed three US citizen children from the United States alongside their mothers, who did not have lawful status. The removals included a 4-year-old receiving treatment for metastatic cancer and two other children, ages 2 and 7.
The children’s situations raised questions about due process, particularly after the mothers were detained when attending routine meetings with officials in Louisiana as part of the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program, or ISAP.
Advocates for the families contended the removals lacked proper legal procedures and violated the children’s rights as citizens.
However, Tom Homan, who serves as border czar for the Trump administration, insisted Sunday the children were not deported against their will. Homan stated the mothers wished to take their children with them upon removal to Honduras.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed this view, explaining that a person in the country unlawfully who has a US citizen child has two choices: leave alone or take the child.
The government claimed the mother of the 2-year-old signed a handwritten note in Spanish requesting to take her child.
Attorneys for the families disputed this claim. They said the handwritten note was not a statement of desire.
Lawyers representing the mothers denied either woman was given a choice, stating both wanted their children to remain in the United States due to factors including the 4-year-old’s ongoing cancer treatment and family ties in the US.
According to attorneys and information in a news release from civil rights and immigration groups, the mothers had previous removal orders issued in their absence after missing a court date.
One attorney stated her clients were deported within 24 hours of detention with no access to legal counsel, raising concerns about the speed of the process amidst the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. A federal judge previously cited a 2012 court ruling, noting it is unlawful to deport or detain for deportation a US citizen.
Alanah Odoms, executive director of the ACLU of Louisiana, commented on the situation.
“These are mothers, these are pregnant women. These are children,” Odoms said. “These are people with terminally ill or very serious medical conditions who were law-abiding residents, who were checking in with ICE as they had been instructed to do under orders of supervision.”
