Today's News: Judge Temporarily Blocks Deportation of Unaccompanied Guatemalan Minors
Attorneys for the children argued that the removals violated U.S. law, denied due process, and would send vulnerable children back to dangerous situations in Guatemala.
Photo: Valerie Gonzalez/AP
Overview
Date: August 31, 2025
Summary: A federal judge on Sunday, August 31, 2025, temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to deport hundreds of unaccompanied Guatemalan minors from U.S. custody. The emergency order, issued by Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan, came after attorneys for the children filed a lawsuit, arguing that the removals violated U.S. law, denied due process, and would send vulnerable children back to dangerous situations in Guatemala. The government maintained it was facilitating reunification with parents or guardians who had requested their return, a claim disputed by the children’s lawyers.
Sources
CNN - Judge blocks removal of Guatemalan children in US custody, some of whom were already on planes
NBC News - U.S. judge bars government from sending Guatemalan children back, for now
The Wall Street Journal - Federal Judge Blocks Deportations of Guatemalan Children
The New York Times - Judge Temporarily Blocks Removal of Guatemalan Children
Key Points
A federal judge, Sparkle L. Sooknanan, issued a temporary order halting the removal of unaccompanied Guatemalan minors from U.S. custody.
The attempted removals occurred abruptly in the “wee hours of the morning on a holiday weekend,” leading to an emergency legal challenge and judicial intervention.
Some children were already loaded onto planes in Texas for repatriation when the judge’s order was issued and clarified.
The judge’s initial order, which covered 10 specific plaintiffs, was expanded to a 14-day temporary restraining order covering all unaccompanied Guatemalan minors in Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) custody not subject to a final removal order.
The Trump administration’s stated rationale for the removals was to facilitate reunification with parents or legal guardians in Guatemala who had requested their children’s return. The Guatemalan government also confirmed its coordination in receiving these minors.
Attorneys representing the children countered that the removals violated U.S. law, specifically the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, denied children due process rights, and would place vulnerable children at significant risk upon return to Guatemala.
Following the judge’s order, the children who had been placed on planes were deplaned and were in the process of being returned to ORR custody.
The incident is widely characterized as a continuation of the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement policies and a legal battle over protections for vulnerable migrants.
Unique Highlights
CNN: Identifies the specific plaintiffs as 10 unaccompanied minors, aged 10 to 17, and highlights the case of a 10-year-old indigenous child who suffered abuse and neglect in Guatemala. It also details the specific criteria for the children identified for removal, including not having a parent in the U.S. and not having a pending asylum case.
NBC News: Describes the scene in Harlingen, Texas, with charter buses and passengers in colored clothing used in government shelters. It mentions similar legal actions filed in other locations, such as Arizona, citing cases of a 12-year-old asylum-seeker needing dialysis and a kidney transplant, and a 10-year-old boy and his 3-year-old sister who have no family in Guatemala. The article also provides insight into how advocates learned of the plan, through Homeland Security Investigations agents interviewing children and subsequent cancellations of court hearings.
The Washington Post: Notes that Justice Department representative Drew Ensign stated his agency was unaware of the initial court order when children were first placed on planes. It provides specific numbers for the return process, stating that 16 children had been returned to ORR custody, 56 were expected within the next hour, and four more by 10:30 p.m. It also includes a detailed sidebar outlining the Trump administration’s broader immigration crackdown, including deploying troops, attempting to end birthright citizenship, and increased funding for enforcement.
The Wall Street Journal: Emphasizes the National Immigration Law Center’s filing on behalf of 10 children after learning flights were imminent, and the complaint’s broader aim for hundreds at risk. It explicitly quotes Efrén C. Olivares on the children being “ripped vulnerable, frightened children from their beds” in the “dead of night on a holiday weekend.”
The New York Times: Reports that approximately 2,000 children, mostly from Guatemala, are currently housed in dozens of shelters. It states that the number of unaccompanied minors entering the U.S. has significantly decreased since Mr. Trump’s second term began. It also mentions a separate development where another judge on Friday blocked the administration from carrying out rapid deportations far from the border.
Contrasting Details
Government’s Awareness of Initial Order: The Washington Post reports that Justice Department representative Drew Ensign claimed his agency was not aware of the initial order blocking the deportations when the children were first put on planes. In contrast, The New York Times notes that Judge Sooknanan expressed frustration with the government and her inability to reach its representatives in the early hours of Sunday, implying a lack of communication or responsiveness before the initial order was issued.
Validity of Parental Request for Return: While all articles report the government’s claim that the repatriations were based on parental or guardian requests for reunification, attorneys for the children, cited by CNN, NBC News, The Washington Post, and The New York Times, dispute this. The Washington Post specifically states that lawyers argued that in at least one case, a child’s parents had not requested a return but had received a call from the U.S. government informing them of their child’s repatriation, and that some parents might have asked but the children did not meet legal criteria for deportation.
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