Trump's Illegal Expulsion of U.S. Citizen Children

Last week I mentioned in one of my blog posts that the administration of cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump had been holding immigration hearings for migrant children as young as 4 years old who had not been provided legal representation due to Trump's budget cuts. These children, who had no idea what the hearings were about, and could not mount even the most basic of legal defenses, generally ended up being deported. Soon after I published that post, several media outlets published stories about other children, including some who were citizens of the United States and were in the course of medical treatment for serious illnesses, who were also being removed from the country. The Trump administration, a group that consists of an inordinate number of bullies, frequently, like most bullies, targets the marginalized and powerless. As such, going after children, the weakest and least powerful of targets, should probably not be a surprise. Still, some of the stories that have come out really strain the conscience.

Before I get started on the details of this story, I want to establish a few background facts. First and foremost, it is illegal to deport an American citizen. In fact, it is illegal to simply recommend the deportation of an American citizen. Second, while it may not play a big role in this story, I want to clarify, as I have in the past, that immigration hearings before immigration judges are not real courts being presided over by real judges. Immigration judges are employees of the executive branch, not members of the judiciary. Immigration judges are constrained in their actions and generally act more as administrators of processes rather than adjudicators. They serve at the behest of the President and can be removed if he is not satisfied with them. Indeed, multiple immigration judges were just dismissed, one while in the middle of a hearing. As such, anyone who suggests that being provided a hearing before an immigration judge represents due process or independent judiciary review is either uninformed or attempting to mislead. Simply put, immigration judges do what the President allows them to do and nothing more.

Next, I want to speak specifically about the U.S. Secretary of Deportations Marco Rubio. While confirmed as Secretary of State, those duties have been assumed by Steve Witkoff, who now does all the heavy lifting. Rubio devotes his time to browsing the Canary Mission website, looking for students such as Rumeysa Öztürk, whom Rubio is proudly attempting to deport simply because she co-authored an op-ed article that Rubio didn't like. This is how Rubio stands up for the American value of freedom of expression. In an administration full of horrible personalities, Rubio stands out as perhaps the most despicable. While Rubio used to falsely claim that his parents had fled Cuba after the takeover by Fidel Castro, they actually came to America in 1956, two years before Castro took power. Rubio himself has said that his parents intended to return to Cuba. Rubio might be considered an "anchor baby", born in Miami before his parents had applied for U.S. citizenship. If there is one thing that Rubio has made clear throughout his career, it is that he has no values beyond self-interest. The hypocrisy of the man knows no bounds. That he has now made himself a spokesperson for and supporter of illegally sending U.S. citizen children abroad without due process is, sadly, consistent with the person he has shown himself to be.

The expulsion of three U.S. citizen children came to light after a hearing in the District Court of the Western District of Louisiana in a case heard by Trump-appointed Judge Terry A. Doughty. The first child is a 2-year-old whose mother is undocumented. The mother has been going to required Immigration and Customs Enforcement check-ins for years. At her most recent check-in, she was detained along with the 2-year-old and another child. According to court filings, the mother and children were not allowed to communicate with the child's father or their lawyers. The father was not even informed of where they were being held. While the mother and children were in custody, the father legally assigned custody of the two children to his sister-in-law, who is a U.S. citizen. However, immigration authorities refused to release the children to the newly assigned custodian. Custody of the children was then reassigned to a family friend who filed a habeas petition with the District Court. During the subsequent hearing held by Judge Doughty, a plane carrying the mother and two children was already on its way to Honduras. Doughty attempted to arrange contact with the mother but was informed by the government an hour later that communication would be impossible because the mother had been released in Honduras. Doughty, citing a "strong suspicion that the Government just deported a U.S. citizen with no meaningful process", ordered a hearing to be held on May 16.

The important points above are that while the mother is undocumented, she has been complying with ICE requirements, and there are no accusations of legal wrongdoing. Contrary to what the liar Marco Rubio has been telling the press, there is no indication that the mother wanted the child to accompany her to Honduras. To the contrary, the mother has said from Honduras that she wanted both of her children to stay in the U.S. and there is legal evidence of the child's father's attempts to keep the child in the country. Neither the mother nor the child was provided with due process or judicial review.

The second and third cases of U.S. citizen children being illegally removed from the country involved 4-year-old and 7-year-old siblings. As in the previous case, the mother of the children is undocumented but has been attending ICE check-ins regularly. During her last check-in, the mother and children were detained and quickly removed to Honduras. The 4-year-old child is being treated for a rare form of metastatic cancer, and the child's mother desperately wanted the child to remain in the United States. While the mother and children were in custody, legal representatives were trying to arrange alternative custody, but the family was illegally deported before custody could be transferred. According to lawyers for the family, ICE was aware that the 4-year-old was undergoing cancer treatments. As in the previous case, the father of the children remains in the United States.

As harrowing as these stories are, they are not the first. In February, the family of a 10-year-old American citizen was rushing to Houston, Texas, to attend an emergency medical checkup for the girl who is being treated for brain cancer. The family was stopped at an immigration checkpoint and detained because the girl's parents are undocumented residents. The child's mother showed immigration officials letters outlining the medical treatment, but they didn't care. Also in the car were four of the child's siblings who are also American citizens. The family was quickly carried across the border with Mexico and dumped just over the other side. In addition to the child being treated for brain cancer, another child suffers from a heart disorder. The family was forced to live in a shelter, and neither child is receiving medical treatment.

Trump administration officials, including the loathsome Rubio, have argued that the only alternative is family separation, something for which the administration would also be criticized. Obviously, that is not the only alternative. While the administration contends that it is deporting dangerous criminals, particularly gang members, none of the families comes anywhere close to that description. To the contrary, none of those involved are accused of any illegality beyond being undocumented. They are individuals who have lived in the U.S. for lengthy periods, have ties to their communities, and were following ICE requirements for regular check-ins. The mothers could have been simply left alone. Even if ICE were compelled to deport the undocumented parents, a government with a sense of decency would have allowed for alternative custody arrangements to be made. In the case of the 2-year-old, the child's father had taken legal action to do exactly that, but the government simply ignored him. The other families would have done the same were they provided the opportunity. The cruelty of this administration's policies is such that even Trump-appointed judges can no longer stomach it. The May hearing scheduled by Judge Doughty is likely to be a bad experience for Trump administration lawyers.