Overview

• A two-year-old U.S. citizen, identified as V.M.L., was deported to Honduras with her Honduran-born mother and sister after being detained during an ICE check-in in New Orleans.
• U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty has scheduled a May 19 hearing to investigate whether the deportation lacked meaningful legal process.
• The Trump administration claims the mother requested her child’s deportation, citing a handwritten note, though the court has yet to verify its authenticity.
• V.M.L.’s father alleges ICE denied him a substantive phone call with the mother to coordinate care for the child before the deportation occurred.
• The case has intensified criticism of the administration’s deportation policies, which have been accused of procedural failures and wrongful removals.