In recent deportation cases, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has removed three U.S. citizen children along with their undocumented mothers, prompting legal and civil rights groups to question whether due process was violated.
One of the cases involves Heidy Sanchez, a Cuban national and wife of a U.S. citizen, who was detained during a routine ICE check-in in Tampa, Florida. Sanchez, who had been breastfeeding her 1-year-old daughter suffering from seizures, was deported to Cuba two days later without communication with her attorney or family. Sanchez had an outstanding deportation order from 2019 due to missed court hearing. Despite attempts by her lawyer to halt the deportation and reopen her case, ICE allegedly refused to accept the paperwork and proceeded with her removal. Her attorney, Claudia Canizares, noted that Cuba had previously declined to receive Sanchez in 2020, which had led to her release under supervision.
Another case involves a pregnant Honduran-born woman who was arrested along with her two-daughters, ages 2 and 11, during a scheduled ISAP (Intensive Supervision Appearance Program) check-in in New Orleans, Louisiana. The family, residing in Baton Rouge, was deported shortly after detention. The 2-year-old is a U.S. citizen, while the 11-year-old is not. Despite the child’s father, who is also in the U.S., expressing his desire to retain custody of his daughter, ICE deported them, prompting concerns from U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, who raised questions about whether the 2-year-old, a U.S. citizen, had been deported without proper legal process. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for May 16, 2025.
In another similar case, a Honduran-born mother was detained during a check-in in Saint Rose, Louisiana, along with her two U.S.- born children, one of whom is undergoing treatment for metastatic cancer. Their attorney, Erin Hebert, had prepared a stay of removal but was not granted access to the family, and the children were deported to Honduras within 24 hours of detention. The mother and her children were removed without legal representation or a chance to contest the deportation.
In each of these cases, attorneys argue that none of the mothers were given a genuine choice about whether to leave their U.S. – citizen children behind in the care of relatives. In the case of the 2-year-old, ICE cited a handwritten note from the mother as justification for the deportation, but lawyers claim the note was not voluntary consent to remove the child from the country.
Civil rights groups, including the ACLU and the National Immigration Project, have condemned the deportations as violations of due process and a growing pattern of expedited removals that bypass legal protections for families. Alanah Odoms, Executive Director of the ACLU of Louisiana, called the actions a threat to legal norms and basic human rights.
References:
Andone, Dakin. “3 children who are US citizens – including one with cancer – deported with their mothers, lawyers and advocacy groups say” CNN. April 27, 2025.
Levy, Marc. “ICE deports immigrant mother of an infant and 3 children who are US citizens, lawyers say” AP. April 26, 2025.
