DHS Announces ACLU Drops Lawsuit Over Deportation of US Citizen’s Child
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently stated that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has withdrawn a lawsuit claiming that it unlawfully deported the child of a US citizen to Honduras alongside the child’s mother. In a statement released on Saturday, DHS referred to the lawsuit as “unfounded.”
Initially, the ACLU filed the lawsuit following the removal of Jenny Carolina Lopes Villera, a Honduran national, by ICE. ICE asserted that Villera opted to leave the United States with her two-year-old child. After Villera’s removal, the ACLU raised questions about the conditions surrounding their departure involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and DHS.
The lawsuit stated that the child, referred to in legal documents as “VML,” was born on January 4, 2023, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with both parents listed on her birth certificate. Allegedly, VML was taken into custody along with her mother and her 11-year-old sister during a scheduled check-in as part of ICE’s Intensive Supervisory Appearance Program on April 22, 2025.
ICE reported that Villera entered the United States illegally on three occasions—September 2019, March 2021, and August 2021. Both she and her older daughter received a final removal order in March 2020. When taken into custody at her check-in appointment, Villera presented a valid US passport to prove that VML is a US citizen.
ICE indicated that Villera decided to bring her young daughter, an American citizen, back with her. As for the ACLU, it hasn’t shared insights on why it decided to drop the lawsuit ahead of a scheduled hearing on May 16, overseen by US District Judge Terry Dauty in western Louisiana.
Tricia McLaughlin, DHS’s Deputy Secretary for Public Relations, commented on the ACLU’s decision, stating, “The ACLU filed a lawsuit based on false claims that DHS deported US citizens. The reality is that the mother, who was unlawfully in the country, chose to leave with her two-year-old child. It’s simply false and irresponsible.”
DHS also highlighted its commitment to the security and protection of children, asserting that it will continue working with federal law enforcement to ensure child safety. The department is utilizing the CBP Home Smartphone Application to encourage parents in the US illegally to manage their departures.
According to DHS, this CBP Home application allows individuals without legal status, including illegal US parents, to report their departures voluntarily.
