Two U.S. Citizen Children Deported to Mexico: A Legal and Humanitarian Concern
Two U.S. citizen children were deported to Mexico with their mother after being detained in Austin last week. The family had been stopped by Texas DPS, leading to the father’s arrest. Critics have raised concerns over the lack of due process in the deportation of U.S. citizens amid recent deportation operations by the Trump administration.
In a distressing incident in Austin, two young U.S. citizen children were deported to Mexico alongside their mother on Wednesday morning, as confirmed by their attorney. Cori Hash, a senior staff attorney at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, disclosed that the family was apprehended last week near Dobie Middle School. Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Troopers stopped them, leading to the father’s detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
On the morning of April 30, the authorities approached the family, and while the mother was not detained initially, she was directed to an ICE facility in San Antonio the following day. The complete details surrounding the children’s presence in the vehicle were not fully disclosed. While the mother and father are reportedly not married, they share three children aged 8, 5, and 4, with the two youngest being U.S. citizens, according to Hash. The deportation of the father occurred on Tuesday, followed by the mother’s and children’s deportation the next morning.
Hash requested that the family’s identities remain confidential to protect them from potential repercussions. “They had no due process whatsoever,” Hash emphasized, criticizing the current administration for its approach to deportation. The situation raises concerns about the possible deportation of U.S. citizens without substantial justification.
Officials from the Mexican Consulate in Austin engaged with the father during his detention at the J.J. Pickle federal building on the same day the family was stopped. Carlos Enrique Gonzalez Echevarria, head of the Department of Protection at the Consulate, noted that the father asserted his children were born in the U.S.
Attempts to obtain comments from the Department of Homeland Security, ICE’s San Antonio office, and DPS went unanswered on Wednesday afternoon. Notably, this incident is not isolated, as there have been earlier claims of U.S. citizens facing deportations during the Trump administration’s efforts to enact what has been described as one of the largest deportation operations in U.S. history.
In a shocking case last month, attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) reported the deportation of three U.S. citizen children to Honduras, one of whom is a a 4-year-old child diagnosed with cancer. Following those accusations, the DHS countered with a statement that claimed mothers opted to accompany their children during deportations.
Hash highlighted that the deported parents do have family in the U.S. who could support the children, but the detention process inhibited any communication, creating a troubling dynamic. Michelle Lapointe, legal director for the American Immigration Council, pointed out a worrying trend within ICE’s operations, saying, “The result is that you’re essentially exiling a U.S. citizen to a country that they don’t necessarily know or have any connection to when you’re not allowing parents to make arrangements for their children to remain.”
After the father was detained, the mother was told to report to the ICE office in Pflugerville the following Tuesday. Hash described being on the phone with the mother when she was instructed to enter the facility, which led to the detention of all three children. Mountains of heartbreak ensued as the family was ultimately deported to Reynosa, a border city just across from McAllen, Texas.
In summary, the deportation of two U.S. citizen children to Mexico, alongside their mother, has raised alarms about the treatment of families under immigration policies. Legal representatives have criticized this lack of due process, indicating a troubling trend in the handling of deportations affecting U.S. citizens. As calls for accountability grow, this case reflects broader issues surrounding immigration enforcement and the rights of families.
Original Source: www.dallasnews.com
