A Federal Judge Blocks Deportation of Young Immigrants to Guatemala
A federal judge appointed by President Biden has halted the Trump administration’s plans to deport hundreds of minors to Guatemala.
US District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan granted a temporary restraining order (TRO) on Sunday, as reported.
The order prevents the deportation of groups of 10 unaccompanied children aged 10 to 17 to Guatemala, siding with lawyers who argued that these minors deserved legal protections.
Drew Ensign, who represents the Department of Justice in this matter, has been tasked by Sooknanan to inform officials that they must pause their deportation efforts.
During the hearing, Sooknanan indicated that a broader TRO had been issued, which also blocks the custody of unaccompanied children from Guatemala. Ensign was directed to promptly notify officials to suspend their deportation plans.
Ensign noted that while deportation planes were prepared on Sunday, they remained grounded in the US. He mentioned that one plane may have attempted to leave but returned shortly after.
Lawyers for the children have accused the Trump administration of attempting to deport over 600 minors to Guatemala without guaranteeing their access to humanitarian protections. In contrast, Ensign stated that the administration aimed to reunite these children with their families.
Stephen Miller, Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff, commented on Sooknanan’s ruling, arguing that the children had “self-reported” that their parents were returning to Guatemala.
“It’s actually much worse than that,” Miller remarked. He described the situation where these immigrant children were left without support in the US due to actions taken by the Biden administration, claiming that all minors had reported their parents returning to Guatemala but said Democratic judges were blocking reunifications.
Sooknanan’s order follows reports from CNN that noted multiple sources indicating the Trump administration’s intention to send these immigrant children back to Guatemala to reunite them with their families.
