The Trump administration illegally loaded nearly 700 children onto planes in Texas headed to Guatemala, but a U.S. judge ordered the government to return them to shelters before the planes could take flight.
The children are allegedly Guatemalan and in the United States without parents or family, but these claims can’t be confirmed for every child without due process.
Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan ordered the Justice Department (DOJ) to halt all deportations of Guatemalan minors (unless they have a legal deportation order) for at least 14 days while the legal process plays out.
DOJ attorneys argued that the minors were being reunited (rather than “deported”) with parents and guardians who were aware they’d be coming. Legal advocates for some of the children said this was not true and that the Trump administration was trying to circumvent legal protections for children passed by Congress.
The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act says unaccompanied migrant children who are not from Mexico must be allowed to see an immigration judge and apply for legal protections before any deportation effort. Some of the children facing return to Guatemala still have pending immigration cases.
CBS News
These children were in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which provides shelters and foster families for unaccompanied minors until they are reconnected with a family member or placed with a sponsor. The Trump administration illegally transferred them to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in order to put them on flights to Guatemala, “where they may face abuse, neglect, persecution, or torture,” according to immigration attorneys.
Guatemala officials confirmed they were prepared to accept the children but did not confirm plans to reunite them with family.
