Three US citizen children, ages 2, 4, and 7, were deported from Louisiana early Friday morning alongside their mothers, The Washington Post reported Saturday, citing their lawyers.
Lawyers for the families said both groups were taken into custody in New Orleans and transferred to Louisiana, where they were denied communication with relatives and legal counsel before being put on a flight to Honduras.
The four-year-old suffers from Stage 4 cancer and was removed without medication or doctor contact, the family’s lawyer said.
Attorneys representing the father of the two-year-old US citizen filed an emergency petition in the Western District of Louisiana on Thursday seeking the child’s release.
However, the deportation proceeded before the court opened the following morning, the news outlet said. Hours later, US District Judge Terry A. Doughty expressed concern, saying it is “illegal and unconstitutional” to deport US citizens.
Justice Department lawyers submitted a note allegedly written by the two-year-old’s mother stating she was voluntarily taking the child to Honduras.
The Donald Trump administration, which has consistently criticized the previous administration’s border policies and implemented strict immigration enforcement since taking office, claims its deportation operations target illegal immigrants, criminals, and gang members. However, the accelerated processes have resulted in several errors.
Trump defended the approach on Truth Social on Saturday, stating: “It is not possible to have trials for millions and millions of people.”
Previously, the US government acknowledged that a person named Abrego Garcia was wrongly deported to a mega-jail in El Salvador due to an “administrative error.”