Did ICE Deport Children From Louisiana Who Are U.S. Citizens? Rubio Denies Characterization Amid Controversy

Forbes

27-04-2025

Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the actions of U.S. officials following a report that the U.S. deported three children from Louisiana who were U.S. citizens, saying the children were not deported but their mothers, who he said were here illegally, were deported and chose to take their children with them.
Marco Rubio speaks before the arrival of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump at the Club 47 ... More group in the Palm Beach Convention Center on June 14, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The Washington Post published an article Saturday alleging the children—one of whom has Stage 4 cancer and all of whom are U.S. citizens—were deported with their mothers last week, leading to 'renewed concerns' about the Trump administration violating rights of due process.
The lawyers for the two families involved told the Post the mothers and children were taken into custody during check-ins they were doing as part of the immigration process, and then were driven three hours, prevented from talking to family and lawyers and put on a plane to Honduras.
When asked by NBC's Kristen Welker on Sunday if it is the U.S. policy to deport children who are citizens along with their families without due process, Rubio said, 'No … if someone's in this country unlawfully, illegally, that person gets deported.
If that person is with a two-year-old child … and says I want to take my child with me,' the decision is up to the parent. Rubio said the mothers in this situation opted to take their children with them to Honduras, but that if they have fathers who are U.S. citizens, they will be allowed to come back at any time.
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Yes, at least one person has sued on one child's behalf. A habeas corpus petition was filed on behalf of the two-year-old on Thursday, alleging her detention is 'unlawful' and she should be immediately released. A request for a temporary restraining order was also filed Thursday. The government argued in a filing that the child's mother doesn't want the child released from her custody, and it questioned whether the girl's father and the person who filed the legal requests on the girl's behalf were really who they said they were. On Friday, Judge Terry A. Doughty, a Trump-appointee, ordered a hearing on the matter for May 16 'in the interest of dispelling our strong suspicion that the Government just deported a U.S. citizen with no meaningful process.'
'You guys just make it sound like I say, 'Just kick down the door and grab the two-year-old' and threw them on an airplane. That's misleading, that's just not true,' Rubio told Welker in response to questions about the deportation of children. 'If 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,' Rubio said. 'But ultimately, who was deported was their mother, their mothers who were here illegally. The children just went with their mothers.' Rubio argued it would've been a bigger controversy to keep the children in the U.S. without their mothers, claiming reports would have said the government was holding the children 'hostage' if that were the case.
Trump's deportations of migrants has become a focal point of his presidency as he seeks to crack down on immigration. His administration has sent more than 200 Venezuelan migrants to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, and has been working to revoke visas of international students—though most of the moves have faced legal challenges that are making their way through courts. On Friday, lawyers for the Justice Department reportedly said in court they were restoring about 1,500 student visas and working on a new policy to review them after facing a number of lawsuits over the revocations. Trump's deportation of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act—including Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who the government said was deported by mistake but will not return—has also faced major legal challenges. One judge has said there's 'probable cause' the Trump administration acted in contempt of court by landing a plane with migrants in El Salvador after he ordered they stop the flights, but the Trump administration says it did not intentionally defy any ruling.
Rubio said to Welker he believes all people are entitled to due process. 'Yes, of course,' Rubio said when Welker asked if both noncitizens and citizens should have due process—despite the Trump administration deporting scores of people before giving them the chance to oppose the action in court.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio: 'Of course' all people in the U.S. are entitled to due process (NBC News)
Trump DOJ Backs Down On International Student Visas: 1,500 Will Be Restored (Forbes)
Trump Administration Says It Will Simply Re-Deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia If He Is Brought Back To U.S. (Forbes)