2-Year-Old US Citizen Deported to Country Where She Lacks Legal Status

Newsweek

5 days ago

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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A toddler born in Florida has been deported to Brazil with her undocumented parents, despite lacking legal status there and holding a tourist visa set to expire soon, The Washington Post reported.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek on Friday: "The media and Democrat politicians are force-feeding the public false information that U.S. citizen children are being deported. This is false and irresponsible.
"Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children or ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) will place the children with someone the parent designates," she added.
Why It Matters
The family's deportation comes amid an immigration crackdown under the Trump administration, during which people with valid documentation—including green cards or visas—have been detained and face legal jeopardy.
The administration has been under fire after several United States citizen children have been removed from the country. Government officials maintained that the children were not forcibly removed but accompanied their undocumented mothers, who had been deported.
The Trump administration has been accused of disregarding due process protections, especially for vulnerable groups, such as the U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants. President Donald Trump and his supporters say their efforts are necessary to deter illegal immigration and remove criminals from the country quickly.
Trump has pledged to launch the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history and has detained and deported thousands of people in recent months. The president has also pushed to end birthright citizenship, a legal issue currently held up in the courts.
An Eastern Airlines plane arrives with Venezuelan migrants deported from the U.S. at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela, on March 30, 2025.
An Eastern Airlines plane arrives with Venezuelan migrants deported from the U.S. at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela, on March 30, 2025.
AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez
What To Know
Emanuelly Borges Santos, known as Manu, was born in Fort Lauderdale in September 2022 and has a U.S. Social Security card. Her parents, who are from Brazil, did not have legal status in the U.S. In February, the family was deported to the South American country, along with around 90 other deportees.
Elioni Gonçalves, Manu's mother, told The Washington Post that the family was not given a choice about Manu's fate, saying they would have likely stayed together as a family but may have considered leaving her with her uncle in Florida.
The DHS refutes this, stating that "Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children or ICE will place the children with someone the parent designates."
Gonçalves and her husband, Edivan Borges dos Santos, came to the U.S. in 2021 through Mexico. They reportedly turned themselves in to ICE agents at the Arizona border, with Borges telling The Washington Post they applied for asylum after citing violence and corruption in Brazil.
They were granted a stay while the courts reviewed their case. About a year later, in December 2022, the family received a deportation order.
In February, Borges was summoned to an ICE office in Florida and brought his family.
Unlike her parents, Manu is neither a citizen nor a resident of Brazil and entered the country on a tourist visa. Her temporary status may complicate long-term access to education and health care.
What People Are Saying
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek: "Parents, who are here illegally, can take control of their departure through the CBP Home app. The United States is offering illegal aliens $1,000 and a free flight to self-deport now."
Edilson Santana, attorney in the Ceará public defender's office, told The Washington Post: This was the "deportation of a national."
Erin Hebert, a senior associate at Ware Immigration, in a news release: "Deporting U.S. citizen children is illegal, unconstitutional, and immoral. The speed, brutality, and clandestine manner in which these children were deported is beyond unconscionable, and every official responsible for it should be held accountable."
What Happens Next
It is unclear what legal steps lie ahead in Manu's case as her family works to obtain at least "temporary" citizenship for her in Brazil.
The Supreme Court is reviewing a lower court's decision to halt Trump's birthright executive order.