From Fox News: A Biden-appointed federal judge abruptly blocked the Trump administration from flying out hundreds of illegal alien children over Labor Day weekend after immigrant advocacy groups rushed to court, claiming Trump was carrying out a mass deportation in the dead of night.
The emergency order by U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan froze a pilot program the administration said would reunite nearly 700 kids with parents or guardians in Guatemala.
By the time the judge intervened, charter buses had already rolled up to planes in Harlingen and El Paso and, in some cases, children were seated on board awaiting departure.
Justice Department lawyer Drew Ensign told the court, “These are not removals under the statute. These are repatriations. All of these children have parents or guardians in Guatemala who have requested their return.”
An official for immigrant advocacy group National Immigration Law Center alleged, “it is a dark and dangerous moment when our government chooses to target orphaned 10-year-olds.”
According to CBS News reporter Camilo Montoya-Galvez, Sooknanan conceded her temporary restraining order, which is set to last 14 days, is “extraordinary” but justified it on the grounds that the government had decided to “execute a plan to remove these children” in the “wee hours” of a holiday weekend.
Update: https://t.co/eg1p7XswDe
— Camilo Montoya-Galvez (@camiloreports) September 1, 2025
Montoya-Galvez added, “The Justice Department says 76 unaccompanied children were slated to be sent to Guatemala today, until the effort was blocked by a judge. 16 have been returned to the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services and the rest are expected to be in HHS care by 10:30 PM.”
The Justice Department says 76 unaccompanied children were slated to be sent to Guatemala today, until the effort was blocked by a judge.
16 have been returned to the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services and the rest are expected to be in HHS care by 10:30 PM. https://t.co/ybyN11VMfV pic.twitter.com/8wJRaMaDrh
— Camilo Montoya-Galvez (@camiloreports) September 1, 2025
ABOUT THIS JUDGE: Sparkle L. Sooknanan is a U.S. district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and was recommended to the seat by Democrat Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton of D.C.
Sooknanan was born in 1983 in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago. Joe Biden nominated her in February 2024, and she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate during the “lame-duck” session on December 3, 2024, by a 50-48 vote.
In response to the outrage over the judge’s ruling, Trump advisor Stephen Miller explained, “It’s actually much worse than even that. These smuggled migrant children were orphaned in America by the Biden Administration. 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.”
“The government of Guatemala has formally requested their return. And there are tens of thousands more smuggled minors orphaned in America by the Biden Administration that Democrats are refusing to allow back home with their families,” Miller continued.
The government of Guatemala has formally requested their return. And there are tens of thousands more smuggled minors orphaned in America by the Biden Administration that Democrats are refusing to allow back home with their families.
— Stephen Miller (@StephenM) August 31, 2025
Miller added, “The Biden judge is effectively kidnapping these migrant children and refusing to let them return home to their parents in their home country.”
The Biden judge is effectively kidnapping these migrant children and refusing to let them return home to their parents in their home country. https://t.co/DAcYo2llYg
— Stephen Miller (@StephenM) August 31, 2025
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