New York: A federal judge has issued a temporary order blocking the Trump administration from deporting Guatemalan children back to their country of origin, while also scheduling an emergency hearing on Sunday afternoon to determine the legality of such deportations.
Judge Sparkle Sooknanan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia handed down the order in response to an emergency request filed by the National Immigration Law Center. The legal team argued that the government was violating the children's constitutional right to due process and disregarding long-standing protections for minors who arrive at the border unaccompanied.
Under the ruling, the administration is prohibited from deporting the children-some of whom are only 10 years old-for a period of 14 days.
Despite the order, officials with knowledge of the situation reported that dozens of children were already removed from federally run shelters overnight. They were gathered in the early hours of Sunday morning in preparation to be placed aboard chartered planes bound for Guatemala.
The ruling has the potential to temporarily paralyze the federal government's effort to repatriate hundreds of unaccompanied minors currently in U.S. custody after crossing the southern border.
Shortly after the restraining order was issued, shelters housing migrant children received a directive from the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement. The letter stated that the agency was responsible for the children's care and custody and ordered the shelters to comply with federal instructions.
Officials familiar with the process, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal, confirmed that multiple children had already been transferred out of shelters despite the court order.
Although the injunction is temporary, it marks the second legal setback in recent days for President Donald Trump's immigration policies. On Friday, another federal judge barred the administration from carrying out fast-track deportations in regions far from the border-an initiative that had been positioned as central to the White House's immigration agenda.
The lawsuit regarding the Guatemalan minors emerged after shelter staff received instructions via email on Saturday to prepare certain children for repatriation. Lawyers representing the children received similar communications, triggering the emergency legal filing.
In its 25-page complaint, the National Immigration Law Center argued that the children all have active cases pending before immigration courts in various states, and that deporting them before their hearings would constitute a violation of both federal statutes and constitutional guarantees. The lawsuit described the government's actions as "unlawful and reckless."
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Judge Sparkle Sooknanan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia handed down the order in response to an emergency request filed by the National Immigration Law Center. The legal team argued that the government was violating the children's constitutional right to due process and disregarding long-standing protections for minors who arrive at the border unaccompanied.
Under the ruling, the administration is prohibited from deporting the children-some of whom are only 10 years old-for a period of 14 days.
Despite the order, officials with knowledge of the situation reported that dozens of children were already removed from federally run shelters overnight. They were gathered in the early hours of Sunday morning in preparation to be placed aboard chartered planes bound for Guatemala.
The ruling has the potential to temporarily paralyze the federal government's effort to repatriate hundreds of unaccompanied minors currently in U.S. custody after crossing the southern border.
Shortly after the restraining order was issued, shelters housing migrant children received a directive from the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement. The letter stated that the agency was responsible for the children's care and custody and ordered the shelters to comply with federal instructions.
Officials familiar with the process, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal, confirmed that multiple children had already been transferred out of shelters despite the court order.
Although the injunction is temporary, it marks the second legal setback in recent days for President Donald Trump's immigration policies. On Friday, another federal judge barred the administration from carrying out fast-track deportations in regions far from the border-an initiative that had been positioned as central to the White House's immigration agenda.
The lawsuit regarding the Guatemalan minors emerged after shelter staff received instructions via email on Saturday to prepare certain children for repatriation. Lawyers representing the children received similar communications, triggering the emergency legal filing.
In its 25-page complaint, the National Immigration Law Center argued that the children all have active cases pending before immigration courts in various states, and that deporting them before their hearings would constitute a violation of both federal statutes and constitutional guarantees. The lawsuit described the government's actions as "unlawful and reckless."
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