Federal Judge Slams Trump Administration for Deporting U.S. Toddler Without Due Process
ArchiveFirst published April 27, 2025. It may not reflect later developments.
A federal judge has raised alarm after a two-year-old U.S. citizen was deported to Honduras under the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policies. Judge Terry Doughty warned that the child, referred to as V.M.L. in court documents, may have been expelled with “no meaningful process.”
The toddler, born in New Orleans, was deported alongside her Honduran-born mother and sister after a routine immigration check-in. Despite her U.S. citizen father’s emergency petition to gain custody, authorities proceeded with the removal. “The Government contends that this is all okay because the mother wishes that the child be deported with her. But the court doesn’t know that,” Doughty wrote.
The Trump administration presented a handwritten note claiming the mother wanted to take her daughter to Honduras, but Doughty expressed skepticism. Politico confirmed the family had already arrived in Honduras before Doughty could verify the mother’s intentions.
A hearing is scheduled for May 16, with Doughty stating he has a “strong suspicion that the government just deported a U.S. citizen with no meaningful process.”
