A mother, who is about to be deported, called her husband for less than two minutes to find out what her 2-year-old American citizen son would become.
Another mother was not allowed to talk to her attorney or family until she was deported by a U.S.-born child, even if immigration and customs law enforcement officers knew one of them had stage 4 cancer.
Lawyers for the mother and her children who were sent to Honduras are blasting Trump administration officials, saying the deportation of three U.S. citizens children over the weekend, including the 4-year-old boy who did not use his cancer drugs, was illegal. They object to the family's remarks that they choose to let their children go with their mothers.
On Monday, Tom Homan, the Trump administration's border "tsar" said the three U.S. citizens' children were deported at the request of their mothers. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the children were not deported, but "going with their mothers", adding that as citizens, if there was someone in the United States who "want to take on them", they might come back.
But lawyers provided details, saying they showed that the mother and their family had little chance to arrange for the children. The ice runs out their attempts to help families arrange for the children, they say.
"This kind of relocation is happening at a great rate," said Sirine Shebaya, executive director of the National Immigration Program.
"It does require investigation and some sense of responsibility because there is no mystery about what is happening," Shebaya said.
Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in an email that the agency was “confident in our processes and procedures,” adding that its documentation confirmed that it was a choice parents choose with their children.
“We assume the responsibility of seriously protecting children and will continue to work with federal law enforcement to ensure children are safe and protected,” she said.
In an interview, the mother's attorney Mich P. González, who was deported with her 2-year-old, said the woman was told to take her child to check in with the immigration room, which was promoted from the initial date.
"At every point, the ICE denies that anyone has the ability to know the location of the family, depriving everyone of the ability to connect with them and communicate with them," Gracie Willis, an attorney representing the 2-year-old National Immigration Program, told MSNBC in an interview. She said the child's father "has little chance to talk to his mother about the best things for the child, and then an ice officer hung up because he tried to give her the phone number he gave to the lawyer."
Ice provided a page of notes saying it was written by the pregnant mother and showed that she agreed to deport the 2-year-old. The note is written in Spanish and edited in the upper right corner and at the bottom corner. The notes say, “I will take my daughter (her name) to Honduras” with date and time and mother’s name.
But Gonzalez, co-founder of the Southern Sanctuary of Immigration and LGBTQ Civil Rights Cooperative, said ICE “falsely thought it was her wish and she deliberately agreed to that.”
"This statement doesn't show that it's her wish. It doesn't show that she agrees with it. She just wrote down a fact. After talking to her, it's obvious that she was forced to do it. She feels absolutely forced to write this," Gonzalez said.
The cancer mother's lawyer said she, the boy and his sister, 7-year-old, were also U.S. citizens and were taken to Honduras Friday morning. The lawyer said the mother was unable to talk to her family or attorney before being sent out of the country and she was not willing to take care of the child.
The American Civil Liberties Union said it told ICE in advance about the medical needs of children.
"She signed nothing, wrote nothing, and didn't agree with anything clear. She's been trying to talk to the lawyers all the time," Gonzalez said. "In fact, she's trying to grab the phone to call her family and her lawyers. But she doesn't allow it."
"She signed nothing. She didn't agree with that. She was desperate to make other plans for her two American citizen children, especially because her 4-year-old is actively receiving cancer treatment in the United States," Gonzalez said. "Not only did they go against their mother's wishes, they were deported; without the children's medication."
Some legal advocates warn that there are other situations where mothers’ deportation could put our citizens’ children at risk.
In Florida, Perez Ramirez, 52, a U.S. attorney, said the Department of Homeland Security issued a notice telling her clients to check in at the rink office and bring tickets to her and her 11-year-old daughter to fly directly to Mexico.
Her daughter Yoselin has a life-threatening rare genetic disease called maple syrup urine disease, in which the body cannot break down certain amino acids. Perez Ramirez lost two other children. A female doctor at the University of Florida wrote a letter on her behalf, saying: “Yuselin needs to manage her Med in the United States with her mother. … She would not be able to survive without the care she is currently receiving.”
Perez Ramirez is in a labor trafficking case. Her lawyer said she came to the U.S. with an H2-B visa, which was recruited by an employer who eventually exploited her and confiscated her visa. She was able to get four previous deportations in previous governments, and these committees acknowledge the girl’s serious condition, but this time, “we can’t even apply for accommodation because they said, ‘We have given you four, we have given you four, we’re not going to give you any more.’’
Deportation would force her to bring her daughter with her because no one else can ensure she gets medical treatment.
"She should have left on Saturday, but the only thing that made her here is that her daughter's passport has expired," said Bridgeette M. Bennett, who represents Perez Ramirez. "Bennett tried to stop her from being deported, believing that no one else could take care of her condition.