Deported 2-year-old's family dropping lawsuit against Trump administration

The attorneys for the family of a 2-year-old deported to Honduras with her mother said Tuesday they would drop their lawsuit against the Trump administration. 

A federal judge previously sounded the alarm over the child’s removal citing a lack of “meaningful process.”

“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,” Gracie Willis, one of the family’s lawyers, told The Associated Press.

The American Civil Liberties Union, National Immigration Project and several other groups were representing the family members, who said they want “space and time to consider all the options that are available to them.”

The family’s lawyers previously argued that the child’s father wanted the young girl to remain in the United States where she held citizenship. 

The Trump administration’s attorneys said the mother wanted the child removed with her alongside her other siblings. The government said her request was documented in a note written in Spanish, as reported by Politico, but a federal judge said it would have to be verified.

“The Government contends that this is all okay because the mother wishes that the child be deported with her. But the Court doesn’t know that,” U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, an appointee of President Trump, wrote in court filings.

For now, the two remain in the Central American country where they were released by federal immigration authorities. The family will forgo a hearing slated for later this week where Doughty would have further inquired about legality of the child’s removal.