A US federal judge on Sunday ordered a temporary stop to President Donald Trump’s administration plans to send more than 600 unaccompanied children back to Guatemala.
The emergency order, issued by US District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan in Washington, DC, came at 4 AM because of exigent circumstances. Attorneys said that 10 children were already on planes, awaiting take-off within four hours. Sooknanan ordered the administration to “cease any ongoing efforts to transfer, repatriate, remove, or otherwise facilitate the transport … from the United States” any of the approximately 600 children for 14 days.
All of the children are unaccompanied minors, and the attorneys say they are thus protected by the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2008. The TVPRA expanded protections for unaccompanied minors from other countries, including required screening for possible human trafficking. The case also involves alleged violations of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952.
According to plaintiffs’ complaint, the children had been illegally transferred from the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The request also accused the government of denying the children due process through claims of asylum or other relief.
The children are reportedly aged 10-17, among them includes a 16-year-old mother and her 10-month-old daughter. The request for a Temporary Restraining Order, filed by the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), said that the child in particular could face “abuse, neglect, persecution, or torture.”
Trump administration officials defended their actions by arguing the deportations were aimed to reunite children with their families in Guatemala and claiming many of the children have voluntarily voiced consent to the removal. Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo echoed this position, pledging to continue efforts to bring the children home.
“All of these children have parents or guardians in Guatemala who have requested their return,” said Justice Department attorney Drew Ensign. White House immigration advisor Stephen Miller added, “The minors have all self-reported that their parents are back home in Guatemala. But a Democrat judge is refusing to let them reunify with their parents.”
However, skeptics have pointed out that many of the children are unrepresented in the matter and may not understand the situation. Shaina Aber, the executive director of the Acacia Center for Justice, pointed out how requiring an administrative process, even when the children are “choosing voluntary departure,” is intended to be a “protective mechanism” against coercion, abuse, or misinformation.
Efrén C. Olivares, the vice president of litigation and legal strategy at NILC, said, “It is a dark and dangerous moment…when our government chooses to target orphaned 10-year-olds and denies them their most basic legal right to present their case before an immigration judge. The Constitution and federal laws provide robust protections to unaccompanied minors.”
