Three American citizen children, including a four-year-old battling cancer, have reportedly been deported alongside their mothers, according to legal advocates and organizations supporting the families.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in New Orleans are said to have removed the two mothers and three children—ages two, four, and seven—from Louisiana to Honduras, according to a statement from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
One of the children, who is suffering from stage 4 cancer, was deported without receiving necessary medication, a family lawyer revealed. Additionally, one of the mothers is reportedly pregnant.
Both families had been residing in the United States for years, but the ACLU described their removal as taking place “under deeply troubling circumstances that raise serious due process concerns.”
In one case, a family that includes a two-year-old girl born in Louisiana was taken into custody during a routine check-in at a New Orleans immigration office on April 22, according to legal filings. A court hearing is scheduled for May 19 to determine whether the family was denied due process.
The second family was detained on April 24, two days later, after ICE reportedly failed to respond to inquiries from their lawyers and relatives, the ACLU added.
At a Monday press conference, Tom Homan, Donald Trump’s immigration adviser, disputed the use of the term “deported” to describe what occurred.
“They weren’t deported. We don’t deport U.S. citizens. Their parents made that decision, not the United States government,” he said, as reported by the BBC.
“Having a U.S. citizen child does not make you immune from our laws,” Homan added, emphasizing that the mothers were in the country without legal status.
In Trump’s first 100 days back in office, thousands of undocumented immigrants have been taken into custody, as part of his renewed pledge to overhaul U.S. immigration policies.
On Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts had seen early success.
Leavitt also announced that Trump plans to sign two new executive orders. One of them will require the government to publish a list of so-called “sanctuary cities,” referring to jurisdictions that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
“It’s quite simple,” she said. “Obey the law, respect the law, and don’t obstruct federal immigration officials and law enforcement officials when they are simply trying to remove public safety threats from our nation’s communities.”