Federal Judge Blocks Deportation of Guatemalan Children/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from deporting 10 Guatemalan children and hundreds more potentially facing removal. The ruling followed a last-minute legal challenge from immigrant advocates. The children, some already on planes, were returned to federal custody.
Guatemalan Children Deportation Block Quick Looks
- Judge Sparkle Sooknanan issues emergency restraining order halting deportations
- 10 Guatemalan children were nearly deported; hundreds more are protected for now
- Trump administration’s new deportation pilot program draws national legal challenge
- National Immigration Law Center led emergency legal effort
- Children, aged 10–17, were already on planes awaiting removal
- Deportation agreement negotiated between U.S. and Guatemalan governments
- Critics say children face danger, abuse if returned to Guatemala
- White House defends move, citing reunification with parents
- DOJ confirms children deplaned and returned to federal custody
- Case highlights ongoing immigration policy clash in Trump’s second term
Deep Look
Federal Judge Blocks Trump Administration from Deporting Guatemalan Children
In a dramatic overnight ruling, a federal judge halted the deportation of 10 unaccompanied Guatemalan minors, some of whom were already aboard planes preparing for removal. The decision, issued early Sunday morning by District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan, effectively stopped a broader plan by the Trump administration to deport hundreds of Guatemalan children in a new pilot program.
The emergency legal action was initiated by the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), which filed a pre-dawn motion in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., to prevent what they described as an unlawful and dangerous policy. The children, aged between 10 and 17, were set to be deported within hours when Judge Sooknanan issued a 14-day temporary restraining order.
Government lawyers confirmed later on Sunday that the children had been removed from the planes and were being returned to the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). The judge’s order also applied to other Guatemalan minors in ORR care, potentially shielding hundreds of vulnerable children from immediate removal.
“This is a clear violation of the unambiguous protections that Congress has provided these children,” the NILC and the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights stated in their complaint.
According to the complaint, several of the minors had expressed fear about returning to Guatemala, citing risks of abuse, neglect, persecution, and even torture. One of the plaintiffs, a 10-year-old Indigenous girl whose mother had died, had suffered significant trauma and neglect from previous caretakers. Others were similarly at risk, with children being housed in shelters or foster homes across California, Texas, Pennsylvania, and New York.
The deportation push stemmed from a pilot program quietly negotiated between the U.S. and Guatemalan governments. It marked a significant departure from prior immigration protocols that ensure unaccompanied minors receive full immigration hearings before being removed.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees ORR, had recently instructed staff to block the release of Guatemalan children to U.S. sponsors unless the sponsor was a parent or legal guardian in the country. The move, insiders say, was a prelude to mass deportations.
Judge Sooknanan, a Biden appointee, was alerted to the emergency motion at 2:35 a.m. and convened a rare holiday-weekend hearing to assess the case. “I have the government attempting to remove minor children from the country in the wee hours of the morning on a holiday weekend,” she said, expressing concern at the timing and urgency of the administration’s actions.
DOJ attorney Drew Ensign confirmed that while some children had been loaded onto planes in Harlingen and El Paso, none had been removed from the U.S. “We believe one plane may have taken off,” he said, “but it returned under the judge’s order.”
The Trump administration, now in its second term, has ramped up immigration enforcement, including targeting unaccompanied minors. President Trump has called for aggressive deportation tactics and signed off on deals with countries like Guatemala to streamline removals.
Stephen Miller, the White House Deputy Chief of Staff, defended the policy on social media. “The minors have all self-reported that their parents are back home in Guatemala,” he wrote on X. “But a Democrat judge is refusing to let them reunify with their parents.”
However, immigration advocates contested this claim, pointing out that not all children had confirmed safe return conditions. They argue that deportation without legal proceedings violates federal law, which requires unaccompanied children to be placed in government custody until they can be united with sponsors and granted immigration hearings.
The ruling marks the latest legal setback for the Trump administration’s immigration agenda. Earlier this year, Trump faced judicial blocks on deportations to El Salvador and Venezuela, and in June, the Supreme Court allowed the administration to continue deporting migrants to third-party countries.
This case underscores the escalating tension between federal courts and Trump-era immigration policy, with legal advocates preparing for further clashes as the administration pushes to tighten control over undocumented migration.
The temporary restraining order remains in effect for 14 days while the court reviews the case in greater detail.
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