Federal Judge Halts Deportations of Migrant Children
In a significant development, a federal judge intervened on Sunday to prevent the Trump administration from deporting a group of migrant children who were already on planes and ready to be sent back to Guatemala. This came after lawyers mounted an emergency appeal very early in the morning.
It’s hard not to think about previous instances when courts challenged deportation efforts during Trump’s presidency.
At around 1 a.m. on Sunday, the National Immigration Law Center, an advocacy group for immigration reform, filed an emergency motion with the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. The aim was to halt the removal of ten unaccompanied children from Guatemala.
During an unusual hearing on this holiday weekend, District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan shared that he woke up at 2:35 a.m. to address the urgent situation. He issued a temporary restraining order, which will stop the deportation of children aged 10 to 17 for the next two weeks.
The judge broadened his order to safeguard unaccompanied minors from Guatemala who are currently under the care of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The initial complaint suggested that this group might involve hundreds of children.
Government lawyers confirmed that children who were scheduled to fly to Guatemala that evening were taken off the plane and returned to the custody of the Refugee Resettlement Bureau.
Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has escalated measures against immigrants, including targeting an agreement with Guatemala that allowed for the return of unaccompanied children. Reports indicated that deportations were set to begin that weekend, a plan first brought to light by various news outlets.
When unaccompanied children arrive at the U.S. border without guardians, they are categorized as such and placed in federally operated shelters until they can be placed with families or foster parents, as mandated by federal law.
In July, Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo noted that his government was collaborating with the U.S. to facilitate the repatriation of these unaccompanied children.
During the emergency hearing, Judge Sooknanan urged the Justice Department to confirm that Guatemalan children had not yet been deported.
Justice Department lawyer Drew Ensign clarified that the children had not been removed, but some had been loaded onto planes. He believed that at least one plane had taken off, only to return following the judge’s order.
Efren Olivares, a lawyer with the National Center for Immigration Law, informed the judge that some children appeared to still be on planes in Harlingen and El Paso, Texas, but they would ultimately be returned to HHS shelters.
Ensign mentioned that Olivares had contested the situation, but all parents or guardians of the Guatemalan children had requested their return through the Guatemalan government.
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller critiqued Sooknanan’s decision to block the deportations, stating, “All minors self-reported that their parents were returning home to Guatemala.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, along with ICE, did not promptly respond to inquiries for comment. Guatemala’s Foreign Ministry also opted not to comment.
“A Clear Violation”
Within the offices of HHS overseeing refugee resettlement, unaccompanied children remain in care until they can be placed with U.S. sponsors. Recently, signs of deportation efforts emerged again.
An email reviewed by Reuters from Melissa Johnston, the director of HHS’s unaccompanied children’s program, instructed staff to refrain from releasing Guatemalan children from federal custody.
In a recent complaint, the National Immigration Law Centre and Young Immigrants’ Child Rights Centre argued that deportation would be a “clear violation” of the protections Congress has provided for vulnerable children.
According to children in Guatemala, returning could expose them to “abuse, neglect, persecution, or torture.” Among the plaintiffs was a 10-year-old Indigenous girl who had lost her mother and faced mistreatment from other caregivers while in U.S. custody.
The complaint stated that some of the plaintiffs expressed fear about returning to Guatemala. These children were residing in shelters or foster care across various states, including California, Texas, Pennsylvania, and New York.
