> U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, a Trump appointee, said the child — identified in court papers by the initials “V.M.L.” — appeared to have been released in Honduras earlier Friday, along with her Honduran-born mother and sister, who had been detained by immigration officials earlier in the week.
> The judge on Friday scheduled a hearing for May 16, which he said was “in the interest of dispelling our strong suspicion that the Government just deported a U.S. citizen with no meaningful process.”
My translation: "Jenny Carolina Lopez: I'm taking my daughter V.M.L. (unredacted) with me to Honduras."
The judge received a petition from non-family that said a US citizen was being deported. He inquired, and found out that it was the mother's choice, not ICE's.
"On April 25, 2025, Judge Doughty issued a memorandum order addressing the emergency petition. 2025 WL 1202548. The order acknowledged the serious due process concerns raised by the petition and scheduled a hearing for May 16, 2025, to determine whether the government had unlawfully deported a U.S. citizen without providing a meaningful opportunity to challenge her removal. Despite the scheduled hearing, on May 8, 2025, the parties filed a joint stipulation of dismissal, and the case was closed without a ruling on the merits."
"Some time that night, an officer who was supervising Julia and her daughters at the
hotel instructed Julia to write down on a piece of paper that her U.S. citizen daughter Jade will
travel to Honduras with her. When Julia objected, the officer threatened Julia that Jade would be
immediately sent to a foster home in the United States if Julia did not write a note stating that Jade
would be deported to Honduras with her. Under duress, Julia did as instructed and wrote down in
Spanish: “I will bring my daughter [Jade] with me to Honduras.”"
> He inquired, and found out that it was the mother's choice, not ICE's.
That's directly contradicted by your link; "the case was closed without a ruling on the merits".
> does the difficulty in surfacing a case
I have no difficulty at all finding this case; I replied to your comment about five minutes after you posted it.
> A Trump-appointed Federal judge clearly did not find that excuse compelling.
A Trump-appointed judge set a hearing about a situation where he was told a US citizen was being deported. I would expect any judge to care about that, regardless of who appointed them. Because we don't actually deport US citizens, it turns out.
> The same org claimed Alex Pretti was an assassin who was attempting to massacre ICE, remember. They lie; that's a matter of public record.
They didn't allege in that document that it was coerced. They allege that they didn't give them enough options to contact family etc. She had an option to leave the child in the US.
> "the officer threatened Julia that Jade would be immediately sent to a foster home in the United States if Julia did not write a note stating that Jade would be deported to Honduras with her."
This shows that the child going to Honduras was a choice by the mother. Under duress? Sure, she's getting deported. Tough choice. But she made it, not the government.
> That's directly contradicted by your link; "the case was closed without a ruling on the merits".
No it's not. What, you think the judge never saw the piece of paper? You think active cases are closed without involving the judge?
> I have no difficulty at all finding this case; I replied to your comment about five minutes after you posted it.
Sure, but it didn't fit the criteria. This US citizen wasn't deported by the government. Their mother was, and she chose to take the child with her.
> A Trump-appointed judge set a hearing about a situation where he was told a US citizen was being deported.
He's quoted as having a "strong suspicion" that a US citizen was deported.
> The same org that is claiming what?
DHS claims it was a voluntary deportation. But DHS also claimed Alex Pretti was an assassin. They're simply not credible.
> They didn't allege in that document that it was coerced.
I directly quoted it. Here it is again:
"When Julia objected, the officer threatened Julia that Jade would be immediately sent to a foster home in the United States if Julia did not write a note stating that Jade would be deported to Honduras with her."
> You think active cases are closed without involving the judge?
Again, "the case was closed without a ruling on the merits".
> Sure, but it didn't fit the criteria.
Given the above, and your other comments on incidents even Trump, Miller, and Noem are walking back their statements on, I'm not certain you're really reading anything.
> "When Julia objected, the officer threatened Julia that Jade would be immediately sent to a foster home in the United States if Julia did not write a note stating that Jade would be deported to Honduras with her."
The officer "threatened Julia" that the US citizen would stay in the US and not go with her during her deportation.
"Threatened" is a word written by her attorney. I would have said "explained."
Yes, those were her two options. Leave the US citizen in the US, or don't leave it. She made a choice. We didn't deport the kid.
