ICE Deports Cancer-Stricken Child Among 3 American Kids

The New Orleans office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently deported three American children, ages 2, 4, and 7, along with their undocumented mothers, including one who is pregnant. This action has been severely criticized for lacking due process, as articulated by a judge nominated by Trump. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has reported that after their arrests, both families were unreachable, and attempts by lawyers and family members to make contact were either ignored or denied by ICE officials.

It has come to light that one of the children, suffering from a rare type of metastatic cancer, was deported without any medication or the chance to consult with their doctor, despite ICE being informed of the child’s critical health condition. This incident isn’t isolated, following a similar situation last month involving the deportation of a family that included a 10-year-old U.S. citizen with brain cancer.

Court records show that a young girl from New Orleans, only identified as V.M.L., and her mother were detained during a routine immigration check in the city. A habeas corpus petition claims that the ICE New Orleans Field Office Director, Mellissa Harper, informed V.M.L.’s distressed father that he could attempt to retrieve his daughter but would likely face arrest due to his undocumented status. The petition suggests that Harper was using the child as leverage to coerce her father into surrendering to immigration authorities.

Following these events, U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, who was appointed by Trump, set a hearing for May 16 in Monroe, Louisiana, citing his strong suspicions about the government deporting a U.S. citizen without due legal process. Judge Doughty emphasized that it is unlawful and unconstitutional to deport or detain U.S. citizens for deportation.

The ACLU has condemned these actions by ICE as a severe and increasingly common misuse of power, which endangers the lives and well-being of vulnerable children and a pregnant woman. They labeled these actions as not only illegal but also heartless and inhumane.

Teresa Reyes-Flores from the Southeast Dignity not Detention Coalition strongly criticized ICE for blatantly violating due process and basic human rights. She detailed how the families were made incommunicado, denied access to their lawyers and loved ones, and hastily deported, stripping them of any opportunity to protect their U.S. citizen children.

Homero López Jr., the legal director of Immigration Services and Legal Advocacy, expressed that these abhorrent actions are indicative of ICE’s growing disregard for immigrant protections, including those of their children.

“These sorts of disappearances harken back to the darkest periods in our national history and pose a threat to everyone, regardless of their immigration status,” he remarked.

The Trump administration, known for its harsh immigration policies including child separations and detention in harsh conditions during its first term, continues to face criticism for its anti-immigrant stance.

In recent developments, the U.S. Supreme Court has taken steps to protect undocumented individuals from some of these policies, including blocking the deportation of undocumented Venezuelans and ordering the administration to assist in the return of a wrongfully deported Salvadoran. Additionally, Judge David Briones recently demanded the release of a Venezuelan couple detained in El Paso under questionable circumstances and cautioned ICE against further deportations under the pretense of the Alien Enemies Act in West Texas.

The ongoing issues of wrongful detentions and deportations, including those of U.S. citizens and legal residents, have sparked a renewed push for defunding ICE.

Mich P. González, a founder of Sanctuary of the South—which offers legal support to immigrants—argued that a government agency that detains and deports vulnerable mothers with their U.S. citizen children without due process should not be financed with an additional $45 billion of taxpayer money.

“These families were merely following ICE’s instructions, and yet they endured harsh and traumatic separations,” González noted. “Given that this has occurred just three months into the Trump administration, we should all be concerned about what might happen in the next four years.”