Federal Judge Blocks Deportation of Unaccompanied Guatemalan Minors, Blasts Administration’s Rationale
Federal Judge Blocks Deportation of Unaccompanied Guatemalan Minors, Blasts Administration’s Rationale
A federal judge on Thursday issued a preliminary injunction, effectively halting the Trump administration’s efforts to deport unaccompanied minors to Guatemala. The significant ruling comes just 18 days after government officials attempted to remove dozens of children, many roused from their beds in the middle of the night, on planes bound for their home country.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly sharply criticized the administration’s claims that these deportations were for ‘reunification’ with parents, stating that the explanation ‘crumbled like a house of cards.’ Judge Kelly, a Trump appointee, found no evidence that parents sought their children’s return; instead, Guatemalan authorities reported an inability to locate most parents, and none who were found had requested their children’s repatriation.
The injunction specifically bars the administration from deporting any unaccompanied Guatemalan child without a final order of removal or attorney general permission to voluntarily depart, pending the ongoing case. While the immediate scope is limited to Guatemalan children, attorneys involved have indicated that minors from other countries, including Honduras and El Salvador, could also be targeted for similar removals.
In response to the ruling, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin issued a fiery statement, accusing the judge of ‘blocking efforts to REUNIFY CHILDREN with their families’ and calling the decision ‘disgraceful and immoral,’ suggesting it was politically motivated.
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