From Fox News: A federal judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from deporting certain Guatemalan minors to their home country after the government walked back claims that it intended to reunite the youths with their parents.
Judge Timothy Kelly, who issued the order, signaled his skepticism of the removals in a hearing last week, noting declarations from minors who said they feared facing violence or neglect if they were returned to Guatemala.
“It goes without saying that makes that irreparable harm,” Kelly said of their possible removals.
Kelly, a Trump appointee, also raised a report from the Guatemalan attorney general’s office, which plaintiffs submitted to the court. The report was compiled in response to Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement notifying the Guatemalan government that the government planned to return more than 600 minors to Guatemala. No parents had requested the return of their children, the report said. DOJ attorney Sarah Welch responded during the hearing that she had no evidence to contradict the report.
“I don’t have anything specific that I can refer to contest the Guatemalan AG’s report,” Welch said, though she additionally mentioned that some children have shown interest in returning home.
Judge Sparkle Sooknanan issued an order blocking the deportation of 70 minors, ages 10–17, who were abruptly flown toward Guatemala over Labor Day weekend. Her ruling extends an earlier emergency order indefinitely.
The Trump administration may appeal the ruling. Attorneys said the minors faced imminent deportation despite pending asylum or other unresolved legal claims.
Sooknanan initially handled the case over Labor Day before it was taken over by Kelly. At the time, DHS officials blasted Sooknanan’s order, claiming it stopped children from reuniting with their parents.
“Judge Sparkle [Sooknanan] is blocking flights to *reunify* Guatemalan children with their families,” DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin wrote on social media at the time. “Now these children have to go to shelters. This is disgusting and immoral.”
Attorneys argued that trafficking and immigration laws forbid unaccompanied children from being secretly removed at the government’s discretion. The minors remain in HHS custody without legal guardians in the U.S., they noted.
