A heated exchange took place Tuesday between Democratic Texas Representative Veronica Escobar and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a House Appropriations Committee hearing, centered on the assertion that U.S. citizen children were deported under the Trump administration.
Escobar alleged that the administration had deported U.S. citizens, specifically citing the cases of three children and mentioning one child with cancer who was reportedly deported without necessary medication.
“I’d like to now focus on U.S. citizens who were deported. In fact, three children so far, likely more children,” Escobar stated. She added that lawyers claimed the families were not given an opportunity to plan for the children, leading to their deportation.
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Secretary Noem attempted to refute Escobar’s claims, asserting that the specific cases referenced involved parents who chose to take their children with them.
“The specific cases that you’re referencing with these children, it was the parents’ choice to take their children, which it is the policy of the Trump administration to keep families together,” Noem responded as Escobar talked over her.
News outlets reported in April on the deportation of three American children. However, government officials maintained that the mothers of these children made the decision to bring them back to Honduras, as the Tampa Free Press reported.
Rubio Pushes Back On The Narrative
In April, Secretary of State Marco Rubio publicly challenged what he called “misleading” reports concerning the deportation of the mothers of the three U.S. citizen children.
The controversy stemmed from initial reports by various outlets that the children, ages 7, 4, and 2, were involved in deportation proceedings alongside their mothers, who had entered the United States illegally from Honduras.
Speaking on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” with Kristen Welker, Rubio clarified the situation, arguing the children were not deported themselves, but rather “went with their mothers,” who were illegally in the U.S. and were deported.
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“On the headline, that’s a misleading headline,” Rubio stated. He pushed back against the idea that agents forcibly removed the children, saying, “It’s not like you guys make it sound like ICE agents kicked down the door and grabbed the 2-year-old and threw him on an airplane. That’s misleading. That’s just not true.”
Rubio elaborated on the difficult decision faced when deporting a parent with a U.S. citizen child. “If someone is in this country unlawfully, illegally, that person gets deported,” Rubio continued. If that person wants to take their child, “you have two choices. You can say, ‘yes, of course you can take your child…’ or you can say, ‘yes, you can go. But your child must stay behind.’ And then your headlines would read, ‘U.S. holding hostage [a] 2-year-old…while mother deported.’ So, the parents make that choice.”
Rubio emphasized that as U.S. citizens, the children retain the right to return to the United States.
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