Trump wants to deport Guatemalan children, Judge temporarily blocked order

2025-09-01 05:22:28

(MENAFN) A US judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s plan to send dozens of unaccompanied Guatemalan children back to their home country.

District Court Judge Sparkle Sooknanan issued the order on Sunday after reports surfaced that children were being placed on planes destined for Guatemala, where attorneys argued they could face abuse or persecution. The children, who arrived in the US alone, are currently in government custody while their immigration claims are reviewed.

Guatemala’s President Bernardo Arevalo and US justice department lawyers maintained that the children were not being deported but repatriated to reunite with family members. President Arevalo criticized the ruling and pledged to continue efforts to bring the children home through a pilot program he had proposed to President Trump.

The legal challenge arose early Sunday when immigrant advocacy groups sought an emergency injunction, warning that roughly 600 children could be flown out of Texas. Judge Sooknanan initially issued a temporary restraining order preventing officials from sending a group of 10 migrant children, ages 10 to 17, to Guatemala.

During a rapidly arranged hearing later that day, Judge Sooknanan, nominated by former President Joe Biden, extended the order to cover all unaccompanied children reportedly at risk of deportation. The measure will remain in effect for 14 days.

At the hearing, the judge requested confirmation from administration lawyers that no planes had already departed with the children. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign stated that all planes were "on the ground" in the US, noting that one flight may have briefly taken off but had returned. He emphasized that the flights were intended for family reunifications with parents and relatives in Guatemala, requested by the Guatemalan government and families. Advocacy groups, however, contended that in some cases, this claim was inaccurate.

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