Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) forcibly removes a 2-year-old American citizen and her mother, who is a parent to a 1-year-old baby, from the United States.
In the past few days, borderline heartrending incidents have unfolded, with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents sending a Cuban mother, whose daughter is just a year old, back to her homeland, and separating a two-year-old American girl from her Honduran-born mother, according to lawyers for the families.
These cases have ignited concerns about who's being sent away and the reasons behind the deportations. They accompany an ongoing conflict in federal courts over whether U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration policy is overstepping its bounds and infringing on fundamental rights at an alarming pace.
Lawyers representing the families have described how their clients were snatched up during routine check-ins at ICE offices, only to be whisked away without the chance to talk to lawyers or their family members. They were sent out of the country within a couple of days or so.
A federal judge in Louisiana has expressed doubts about the deportation of the two-year-old girl, questioning whether the government had followed proper procedures.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), along with the National Immigration Project and other allies, have voiced concerns that these cases represent a "shocking – and disturbingly common – abuse of power." They're far from alone, with groups like Sanctuary of the South criticizing these actions as indicative of a broader, cruel, and traumatic separation strategy.
In another New Orleans case, the court has set a May 16 hearing to scrutinize ICE's actions after expressing "strong suspicion" that a two-year-old U.S. citizen was deported to Honduras "with no meaningful process." This comes after the agency failed to verify the child's citizenship status despite legal notifications and scheduled hearings.
Advocates argue that families were systematically denied access to legal counsel while ICE made decisions about child welfare. They claim this reflects a pattern of alleged constitutional violations in deporting citizens without hearings.
These developments bring increased attention to immigration enforcement tactics that target mixed-status families, with legal disputes potentially focusing on citizenship rights and procedural safeguards for minors.
- The ongoing disputes in federal courts are centred on the question of whether President Donald Trump's immigration policy is overstepping its bounds and infringing on fundamental rights.
- The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other groups have contended that the cases of deporting families, including a two-year-old child, represent a disturbing abuse of power.
- A federal judge in Louisiana has expressed concerns about the proper procedures followed in the deportation of a two-year-old American girl, scheduling a hearing for May 16 to scrutinize ICE's actions.
- Advocates assert that families have been systematically denied access to legal counsel during decisions about child welfare, a pattern they claim reflects alleged constitutional violations and potential deployment of traumatic separation strategies.
