An American toddler, merely two years old, has been rendered effectively stateless following her deportation by the Trump administration along with her family.
Emanuelly Borges Santos, affectionately called Manu by her family, was born in a Florida hospital in 2022, holding both an American passport and a Social Security card. Despite these credentials, Manu and her undocumented parents were placed on a flight to Brazil with 94 other individuals in February, as detailed in a Washington Post report.
Upon their arrival, Brazilian authorities expressed surprise at discovering an American child among those deported.
“We had never encountered a case like this before,” Alexsandra Oliveira Medeiros Reis, a federal police officer, stated to the Post.
Currently, Manu resides in Brazil under a tourist visa while authorities grapple with the bureaucratic complexities of her citizenship. During this period, she lacks access to healthcare or education in Brazil, and her visa is due to expire in a few weeks.
As Manu does not meet the criteria for standard citizenship pathways in Brazil, the country is exploring a novel solution: a “temporary” citizenship that would cease when she reaches the age of 18.
Her parents are understandably anxious about her situation. “What if she needs medical attention?” her mother, Elioni Gonçalves, expressed to the Post.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security informed the Daily Beast that in cases like Manu’s, parents are offered a choice regarding their children’s accompaniment.
“The media and Democrat politicians are disseminating false information to the public, claiming U.S. citizen children are being deported,” stated Tricia McLaughlin, DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs. “This is untrue and irresponsible. Parents are asked if they wish to be removed with their children, or [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] will arrange for the children to be placed with a designated individual.”
However, Manu’s parents assert they were not presented with such an option. “They just deported us,” her father, Edivan Borges dos Santos, said.
This incident is not isolated; other American children have been affected by President Donald Trump’s renewed efforts in his second term to deport undocumented immigrants on a large scale.
In the previous month, three U.S. citizens, aged two, four, and seven, were sent to Honduras with their undocumented parents. One of these children, who had cancer, was deported without necessary medication.
The Justice Department under Trump is currently awaiting a Supreme Court ruling on the constitutionality of his executive order, issued on his first day, which aims to end birthright citizenship. A favorable ruling would further simplify the deportation of children like Manu.
Manu’s parents informed the Post that they had sought asylum in the United States in 2021, fleeing violence and corruption in Brazil. While their case was under review by Florida courts, Borges worked in construction, and the family established a quiet life in America.
Although a judge had issued a stay on their deportation following Manu’s birth in December 2022, the family was summoned to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office. There, they were compelled to sign documents they did not comprehend and were subsequently deported quickly.
The family’s lawyer expressed outrage upon learning of the events, telling the Post anonymously, “The U.S. government is deporting its own citizen.”
Manu now leads a relatively secluded life in Poté, a rural town near Brazil’s coast, primarily spending her days with her mother and grandparents. “She rarely interacts with other children,” her mother remarked.