Deported Mother Who Took 2-Year-Old US Citizen Child With Her Drops Lawsuit Against Trump Admin

The Honduran illegal immigrant deportee opted to take her 2-year-old U.S. citizen child back home with her.

Honduran illegal immigrants who were deported from the United States deplane at Ramón Villeda Morales Airport in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, on Dec. 4, 2024. Moises Castillo/AP Photo

A lawsuit filed against the Trump administration alleging it deported an illegal immigrant and her 2-year-old U.S. citizen child to Honduras in April without due process is being dropped, lawyers for the child’s family confirmed on May 13.

The toddler, identified in court filings only as V.M.L., and her 11-year-old Honduran-born sister were kept with their mother, Jenny Carolina Lopez-Villela, who was arrested during a check-in appointment at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in New Orleans.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the National Immigration Project filed a lawsuit in April challenging their deportations, claiming the toddler was held “incommunicado,” with ICE “refusing or failing to respond to multiple attempts by attorneys and family members to contact them.”

They further argued that the family members did not have a fair opportunity to decide whether they wanted the children to stay in the United States.

The federal government has denied those claims.

Gracie Willis, one of the family’s lawyers, said on May 13 that they have decided to dismiss the case to allow for “space and time to consider all the options that are available to them.”

“Given the traumatizing experiences the families have been through, they are taking a step back to have full discussions about all their options, the safety and well-being of their children, and the best ways to proceed so the harms they have suffered can be fully addressed,” Willis said.

DHS welcomed the family’s decision to drop what it described as “baseless lawfare” against ICE and the department.

“The ACLU dropped its lawsuit on the false claims that DHS deported a U.S. citizen,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.

“The truth is, and has always been, that the mother—who was in the country illegally—chose to bring her 2-year-old with her to Honduras when she was removed.

“The narrative that DHS is deporting American children is false and irresponsible.”

According to DHS, Lopez-Villela illegally entered the United States three times: in September 2019, March 2021, and August 2021.

“She and her older daughter were deemed inadmissible to the United States the first time she entered the country and both her and her daughter were given final orders of removal in March 2020,” the DHS statement reads.

DHS Responds to Lawsuit Claims

The department said that Lopez-Villela made the decision to take her child to Honduras with her when she was deported.

“When she was taken into ICE custody in April 2025, she chose to bring her younger daughter, who is an American Citizen, with her to Honduras and presented a valid United States passport,” DHS said.

“ICE asks parents if they want to be removed with their children or if they would like to place a child with someone the parent designates. In this case, the parent stated they wanted to be removed with their child.”

According to a court filing by V.M.L.’s designated custodian, Trish Mack, the girl’s father insisted he wanted her to remain with him in the United States.

The filing states that an ICE officer “threatened by implication that V.M.L.’s father would be detained and deported if he came to try to pick her up, which would not serve V.M.L.’s best interest or guard her rights as a U.S. citizen.”

In its opposition brief, the Department of Justice (DOJ) argued that the child’s father and her designated custodian had failed to present themselves to ICE or provide proof of their identities, “despite requests that they do so,” meaning that ICE was unable to release the child.

V.M.L. is not prohibited from entering the United States, the DOJ stated.

A federal judge in April said there was a “strong suspicion” that the government removed the 2-year-old child to Honduras “with no meaningful process.”

District Judge Terry Doughty had scheduled a hearing for May 16 to determine whether federal immigration authorities violated the girl’s constitutional rights.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.