Children’s Groups Outraged by Deportation of U.S. Citizen Children without Due Process
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Washington, D.C., April 29, 2025 – Members of the Children Thrive Action Network (CTAN) condemn Trump’s mass deportation crusade, which has now apprehended and deported U.S. citizen children. Over the weekend, The Washington Post reported on the Trump Administration’s deportation of U.S. citizen children from Louisiana to Honduras without due process. Three children, ages 2, 4, and 7, were taken into custody with their mothers late last week while attending routine check-ins that allow individuals to remain in their communities while undergoing immigration proceedings. One of the children has Stage 4 cancer and was deported without medication or the ability to contact their health care providers, according to The Washington Post. The other parent of the 2-year-old child did not provide consent, and the child was deported before the parent could petition the courts to release her from custody.
The deportation of U.S. citizen children without due process is yet another clear violation by Trump and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of the rights of both citizens and noncitizens, now including the most vulnerable population: children. This latest assault follows other immigration attacks specifically targeting children, such as the rescission of the protected areas policy, which restricted ICE activities in sensitive locations like schools and child care centers; the revival of family detention, including the arrest and jailing of a mother and her three children, which was met with outcry from their local community; and recent efforts to cut critical legal representation for unaccompanied minors, leaving even toddlers to fend for themselves in immigration court proceedings.
Research shows that immigration enforcement actions create a climate of toxic stress that is harmful to a child’s development, and studies also show that children who are separated from their parents due to deportation or who are deported with their parents suffer the most detrimental impacts.
In response, several CTAN members condemned the action.
Wendy Cervantes, Director of Immigration and Immigrant Families at the Center for Law and Social Policy:
“There is no question that a core tenet of the Trump Administration’s immigration agenda is to ensure that children–including U.S. citizen children–suffer as much as possible. From trying to deny infants birthright citizenship, to jailing toddlers with their families, and now deporting our youngest citizens without due process, it is clear that an entire generation of children is under attack. All kids deserve the right to be kids, and a parent’s rights to make decisions about their children’s care and custody must always be upheld. We will not stand by and let these egregious actions continue, and we call on Congress and the courts to put a stop to the administration’s targeted attacks on our children’s rights.”
Martin Kim, Director of Immigration Advocacy, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC:
“Abducting three very young U.S. citizen children—including a preschooler with cancer—and deporting them without due process is not only evil but also an alarming escalation of this President and his government officials’ blatant disregard for the rule of law. There are over 5 million U.S.-born children who reside with at least one undocumented parent, including approximately 800,000 Asian American children. Exiling U.S. citizen children without their day in court is clear evidence that the Trump Administration is happy to desecrate the Constitution based on racist ideas of who belongs in America.”
Linda Corchado, Senior Director of Immigration at Children At Risk:
“As of recent estimates, approximately 834,000 children in Texas live with one or more undocumented parents. This figure represents about 1 in 10 children statewide, highlighting the significant presence of mixed-status families in the state. When our government strips U.S. citizen children of their rights without due process, we betray the very foundation of our democracy. Every child living in America, living in our state of Texas, deserves protection, dignity. Their futures should be determined by their best interests—not by political expediency. We must stand up for all children, without exception.”
Trudy Taylor Smith, Senior Administrator of Policy and Advocacy, Children’s Defense Fund-Texas:
“The recent deportation of three U.S. citizen children to Honduras with their mothers demonstrates how the Trump administration’s policy of indiscriminate, mass deportations without due process endangers all children, regardless of their immigration status. One of the deported children is a four-year-old undergoing cancer treatment, whose life is now at risk and may be lost because deportation has cut off access to that treatment. This is a man-made tragedy generated by cruelty and lawlessness. Every child deserves the opportunity to live in safety with their family, and every child deserves the full protection of the law. Now is the time for all of us to speak up for children and defend these rights.”
Stephanie Ettinger De Cuba, PhD, MPH, Executive Director of Children’s HealthWatch:
“Rigorous scientific evidence has repeatedly shown that young children need strong, stable connections with their parents and consistent access to basic needs, including health care, to meet cognitive, emotional, and motor development milestones. Deporting young American citizens alongside parents who were denied due process directly undermines these needs and threatens health. Caregivers must be able to consult one another and plan for the care of their child to meet their emotional and basic needs, especially in the face of a dire diagnosis like cancer that requires specialized, frequent health care. We urge authorities to facilitate all caregivers’ ability to consult with legal counsel and with other family members to plan for the needs of their young children.”
Leecia Welch, Deputy Litigation Director, Children’s Rights:
“Children’s Rights condemns in the strongest terms possible the denial of the constitutional due process rights of all children –citizen and noncitizen alike. The removal of these American children is not only illegal, it is cruel. It inflicts the same lasting trauma that we have witnessed countless times on the faces and in the words of immigrant children we represent who are detained in deplorable conditions by the federal government. At Children’s Rights, we fight every day to ensure that systems designed to protect children do no harm. This betrayal by our immigration system is a clear and urgent reminder: we must hold the government accountable for the safety, and dignity of every child — without exception.”
Anita Gundanna and Vanessa Leung, Co-Executive Directors of the Coalition for Asian American Children & Families (CACF):
“CACF strongly condemns the forced deportation of children. These recent deportations are a horrifying abuse of federal power and a cruel violation of basic human rights. Tearing children from their homes, families, medical care, and from the only communities they know is not only inhumane but a disturbing precedent that undermines due process afforded to all those in the U.S. Such actions inflict lasting psychological harm and trauma on our families and communities, especially among immigrant families who are already deeply affected by systematic discrimination, xenophobia, and the fear of family separation. CACF is committed to working with our national and New York partners and supporting community organizations in advocating for the protection of children regardless of their immigration status. We urge our elected officials to stand with our communities and take immediate action to end these injustices, ensuring that no family is ever torn apart or ripped from their community again.”
Bruce Lesley, President of First Focus On Children:
“The recent deportation of U.S. citizen children as young as 2, 4, and 7 years old reflects a systemic failure to prioritize children’s well-being. These rushed removals, executed without adequate legal safeguards, epitomize the cruelty of an immigration system that too often treats children as collateral damage. There is no justification for subjecting children to trauma that will haunt them for life. First Focus on Children demands an immediate end to these practices and urges the administration to adopt humane, child-centered policies that uphold family unity and protect the rights of every child, regardless of immigration status.”
Xochitl Oseguera, Vice President, MomsRising/ MamásConPoder:
“What the Trump administration is doing to immigrant families and children is cruel, unjustified, and absolutely horrifying. Our economy, our families, and our country are being damaged by the administration’s trampling on the human rights and due process rights of immigrant families, including children who are American citizens. They are stoking hate and fear, while utterly ignoring the health and wellbeing of the most vulnerable among us. All that is undermining families, communities, businesses, and our economy. America’s moms recognize immigrants as our neighbors, family members, coworkers, and friends who strengthen our communities and are an essential part of our care workforce and our country. We want every immigrant family to be treated with dignity, compassion, and respect. This simply must end.”
Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Ph.D., Professor of Applied Psychology, New York University.
“The deportation of toddlers and young children, some of whom are just starting to speak and will not understand their rights for years, denies them their constitutional rights, their access to critical health care, and their long-term potential to contribute to U.S. society.”
Adriana Cadena, Director, Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition:
“What they sold as a crackdown on violent criminals has become an attack on U.S. citizen children and even toddlers with cancer. This is unconstitutional and illegal – more importantly it’s wrong and dangerous. The Trump administration is a threat to all of us, and Congress must act to restrain the administration and restore our democratic values.”
Mayra E Alvarez, President of The Children’s Partnership (CA):
“The Children’s Partnership joins advocates and allies across the country in decrying the unconstitutional removal and denial of due process rights of these U.S. citizen children and their parents. Every child, regardless of where they or their parents were born, deserves to be safe and to live without fear. By cruelly and unlawfully separating these families, the Trump administration has flagrantly violated these most basic and sacred shared values. We urge our elected leaders to end these unjust practices, keep families together and provide all children the support and services they need to stay healthy and thrive.”