Judge Issues Scathing Attack on Donald Trump After Claiming He Deported 2-Year-Old Us Citizen

A federal judge appointed by President Donald Trump has raised serious concerns after a U.S.-born toddler was deported to Honduras alongside her mother and older sister, The New York Times reports.

On Friday, April 25, U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty expressed fears that the child’s constitutional rights may have been violated. The toddler, identified only as V.M.L. in court documents, was born in New Orleans but was removed from the country following what was intended to be a routine immigration check-in in New Orleans earlier this week. She was accompanied by her mother, Jenny Carolina Lopez Villela, and her older sister, both of whom were born in Honduras.

Since President Donald Trump returned to office earlier this year, his administration has rapidly enacted a series of executive orders, including what has been described as “the largest deportation in American history.” However, Judge Doughty warned that V.M.L. may have been expelled “with no meaningful process,” raising serious legal and constitutional questions.

According to court filings, V.M.L.’s father, who resides legally in the United States, filed an emergency petition seeking custody of his daughter in an effort to prevent her deportation. Despite being “ready and willing” to care for her, the father’s lawyers stated that he was initially denied any opportunity to communicate with Villela to discuss their daughter’s future. The two eventually spoke briefly on Tuesday, but the conversation was limited due to severe restrictions.

In defense of the deportation, Trump administration officials argued that Villela had agreed to take her daughter with her to Honduras, presenting a handwritten note in Spanish purportedly from Villela stating: “I will take my daughter… with me to Honduras.”

Judge Doughty, however, cast doubt on the government’s claim, writing in court documents: “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.”