By Mark Tanos
A federal judge halted the Trump administration’s attempt to send hundreds of unaccompanied Guatemalan children back to their home country Sunday.
U.S. District Court Judge Sparkle Sooknanan blocked any deportations of unaccompanied children from Guatemala who lack deportation orders, granting a 14-day temporary restraining order, according to CBS News. The judge acted after attorneys challenged what they called an illegal circumvention of Congressional protections for migrant minors.
The judge moved up her scheduled hearing after learning children were already being loaded onto planes. Justice Department attorney Drew Ensign said during the hearing that while planes had been prepared for departure, all remained on U.S. soil, the outlet reported. One plane that had taken off earlier returned, and children were removed from the aircraft and returned to Department of Health and Human Services custody.
US judge blocks deportations of unaccompanied migrant children to Guatemala https://t.co/VAgjweRdL0 https://t.co/VAgjweRdL0
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 31, 2025
The administration argued it was conducting “repatriations” rather than formal deportations, claiming the Guatemalan government and relatives had requested family reunifications, according to the outlet. Ensign said HHS has authority to reunite “unaccompanied alien children with a parent abroad in appropriate cases.” (RELATED: Democratic Senator Might Just Have Inadvertently Made Case For Mass Deportations)
Attorneys for the children disputed these claims. “This is both unlawful and profoundly inhumane,” said Neha Desai of the National Center for Youth Law, adding some children had pending asylum claims based on persecution in their home country.
The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act requires unaccompanied children from countries other than Mexico to see an immigration judge and apply for legal protections before deportation, the outlet reported. Judge Sooknanan called her order “extraordinary” but justified it given the government’s attempt to remove children during “wee hours” of a holiday weekend.
