The Department of Homeland Security announced on Saturday that a lawsuit brought by pro-illegal immigrant groups on behalf of a 2-year-old American citizen transported to Honduras with her mother was being dropped.
“This ACLU-backed lawsuit was based on the false claims that DHS deported a U.S. citizen,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
“The truth is, and has always been, that the mother—who was in the country illegally—chose to bring her 2-year-old with her to Honduras when she was removed. The narrative that DHS is deporting American children is false and irresponsible,” she added.
DHS explained in a news release, “The parent, Jenny Carolina Lopez-Villela, made the decision to take her child to Honduras. ICE asks parents if they want to be removed with their children or if they would like to place a child with someone the parent designates. In this case, the parent stated they wanted to be removed with their child.”
Lopez-Villela illegally entered the U.S. three times, according to DHS: September 2019, March 2021, and August 2021.
She had been issued a final order of removal in March 2020.
Lopez-Villela’s attorney — Gracie Willis with the National Immigration Project — told ABC News her clients decided to withdraw the suit.
“Given the traumatizing experiences the families have been through, they are taking a step back to have full discussions about all their options, the safety and well-being of their children, and the best ways to proceed so the harms they have suffered can be fully addressed.”
“They are voluntarily dismissing this case to give themselves space and time to consider all the options that are available to them,” she further remarked.
Would you support Trump continuing deportations regardless of what lower courts rule?
Last month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio faced questions from NBC’s Kristen Welker while appearing on “Meet the Press” regarding a Washington Post story alleging the administration deported three U.S. citizen minors.
“That’s a misleading headline,” Rubio said.
“Three U.S. citizens, ages 4, 7 and 2, were not deported. Their mothers, who are illegally in this country, were deported. The children went with their mothers. Those children are U.S. citizens. They can come back into the United States, if there’s their father or someone here who wants to assume them,” he added.
“You guys make it sound like ICE agents kicked down the door and grabbed the two-year-old and threw him on an airplane. That’s misleading. That’s just not true.”
The headline about three U.S. citizens ages 7, 4, and 2 being deported was very misleading.
It was their mothers, who were in this country illegally, who were deported. The decision on whether or not their children go with them is the choice of the parents. pic.twitter.com/iHIhcLO4sX
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) April 28, 2025
Welker followed up asking whether people are being deported without due process.
“If someone’s in this country, unlawfully, illegally, that person gets deported,” Rubio answered.
“If that person is with a 2-year-old child or has a 2-year-old child, and says, ‘I want to take my child with me,’ well, now you have two choices. You can say, ‘Yes, of course you can take your child, whether they’re a citizen or not, because it’s your child,’ Or you can say, ‘Yes you can go, but your child must stay behind.’ And then your headlines would read, ‘U.S. holding hostage, 2-year-old, 4-year-old, 7-year-old while mother deported,’” the secretary said.
He noted, “So the parents make that choice.”
Leftist pro-illegal immigration groups may not like it, but the Trump administration is enforcing the law, and the country is safer for it.
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