Lawsuit: ICE Agents Deported Citizen Children in Secret, Including 4-Year-Old on Chemo
Federal suit says DHS officials violated agency policy and constitutional rights in April deportation of Louisiana families
WASHINGTON — A new federal lawsuit filed in the Middle District of Louisiana accuses U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of unlawfully deporting three U.S. citizen children, including a four-year-old with stage-four kidney cancer, alongside their noncitizen parents in April—without due process, parental consent, or access to legal counsel.
The 39-page complaint, filed Thursday by multiple plaintiffs under pseudonyms for their protection, alleges that ICE agents in Louisiana detained the families during routine immigration check-ins, denied them contact with lawyers and family, and then placed both children and adults on flights to Honduras. Among the deported children was a two-year-old girl born in Baton Rouge and a young cancer patient from New Orleans, both U.S. citizens.
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Filed against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons, and multiple field officers, the lawsuit seeks damages, declaratory and injunctive relief, and the return of the deported families to the United States. It claims violations of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments, the Administrative Procedure Act, and ICE’s own directives regarding the care of U.S. citizen children.
According to the complaint, ICE agents separated the families from legal counsel and other guardians, barred contact with the children’s fathers, and failed to allow arrangements for lawful custody in the U.S. Despite knowing the children were citizens, agents allegedly ignored federal directives requiring detained parents be given the opportunity to coordinate care or request reunification before removal.
In one instance, ICE deported a four-year-old undergoing life-saving cancer treatment at a New Orleans children’s hospital, depriving him of medical care for weeks. His mother, Rosario, allegedly had no opportunity to explain his condition or arrange for continued treatment in the U.S.
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The lawsuit asserts ICE violated a 2022 directive, in effect until July 1, 2025, which required agents to prevent unnecessary family separation, coordinate with parents regarding their children’s care, and avoid detaining citizen children unless strictly necessary. Plaintiffs allege the agency flouted these obligations in both practice and supervision, holding families incommunicado in Louisiana hotel rooms for days.
Named defendants include ICE officers, field directors, and former New Orleans ICE Field Office Director Mellissa Harper, who is sued in her personal capacity. The complaint also names 10 unnamed ICE officers accused of unlawful arrest and detention.
The plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial and are represented by immigration attorneys and advocates. No comment has yet been issued by ICE or the Department of Homeland Security.
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