[Text by Guancha Observer, Lin Chenli] According to reports by CBS and CNN, on April 26 local time, three American children and their mother were deported to Honduras, including a 4-year-old child receiving treatment for metastatic cancer. On April 27, White House border official "Border Czar" Tom Homan and Secretary of State Rubio argued that no American children were deported, only "their mother" was deported.

On April 27 local time, White House "Border Czar" Tom Homan stated that only the children's mother was deported. Video screenshot.

On April 26 local time, organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Project held a press conference, stating that in one case, a mother and her 2-year-old child were deported to Honduras by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); in another case, another mother and her 4-year-old and 7-year-old children were deported, with the 4-year-old child suffering from metastatic cancer and still undergoing treatment.

The lawyers in both cases said that the two mothers and their children were detained by ICE during the "routine registration" in Louisiana on April 24 and were quickly deported afterward.

In the first case, the family submitted an emergency petition on April 24, requesting the court to order ICE to "immediately release" the 2-year-old girl, stating that the department had detained her as an American citizen without any statutory or constitutional authority. The petition showed that this mother had regularly participated in similar registrations over the past four years, often bringing her daughters along.

Judge Terry Doughty of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana stated on April 26 in a court document that a 2-year-old girl, along with her mother and 11-year-old sister, was deported to Honduras, strongly suspecting that the government deported an American citizen without any meaningful procedures.

Therefore, Doughty has scheduled a hearing for May 16 regarding this case, requiring relevant U.S. government departments to explain. He cited a deportation case in 2012, stating: "Deporting, detaining, or suggesting the deportation of American citizens is illegal and unconstitutional."

In the second case, lawyer Erin Hebert introduced that the mother had lived in southern Louisiana for more than a decade but lacked legal status. On April 24, she was asked to bring her two children and passports to the registration office. About 20 to 30 minutes later, ICE informed the lawyer that the family had been detained.

Hebert said that on the morning of April 25, the family was put on a plane and deported to Honduras. "My client was deported within 24 hours of being detained and could not contact me," she said.

Lawyers and advocacy organizations criticized that these cases highlighted the lack of due process in the Trump administration's immigration crackdown efforts. Homan and Rubio argued on April 27 that the deportation process "followed due process," no American citizen children were deported, ICE only deported the children's mothers, and it was the mothers who "voluntarily" took their children back to Honduras.

On April 27, Rubio stated that the deported mothers "voluntarily" took their children with them. Video screenshot.

That day, Homan stated on CBS's television program that "we will not deport American citizens," and added that ICE gave the mother a choice, and she chose to "go back with the children." "The 2-year-old child went back with the mother. The mother signed, saying 'I want my 2-year-old child to go back with me.' This is the parent's decision, not the government's decision."

Homan argued: "When you enter a country knowing that you are illegally entering and choose to have an American citizen child, that is your own matter, not the matter of this administration." He added that having an American citizen child after entering the United States is not a "get-out-of-jail-free card," meaning people cannot be "exempt from legal sanctions."

Rubio expressed similar views on NBC's program that day. He stated that illegal residents in the U.S. would be deported, and if the deported individuals want to take their children with them, there are two options: "You can certainly take your children with you, regardless of whether they are American citizens because they are your children"; or "you can leave, but your children must stay."

Rubio contended that if the U.S. government made the latter choice, i.e., forcing these children to stay in the U.S., critics would also use this to attack the government.

Regarding Homan and Rubio's claim that the mothers "voluntarily" took their children, the lawyers of the two cases denied it. The lawyers stated that both mothers have family members in the U.S., and they both wish for their children to remain in the U.S., with one 4-year-old child still undergoing cancer treatment.

Louisiana ACLU Executive Director Odoms criticized on April 27: "They are mothers, pregnant women, children, some seriously ill or terminally ill, but they are law-abiding residents who reported to ICE according to regulatory orders."

"If ICE can do this to these mothers and children, if ICE can do this to students on college campuses... then none of us can escape this lawless treatment," Odoms said.

This article is an exclusive contribution from Guancha Observer and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7498210273912816162/

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