Washington — A federal judge in Washington moved swiftly on Sunday to block the Trump administration from deporting hundreds of unaccompanied Guatemalan minors, many of whom were already in government shelters or on planes when the order was issued. The ruling underscored both the chaos and the cruelty of the administration’s handling of vulnerable children seeking refuge.
The emergency action came after immigrant rights advocates filed a late-night lawsuit on behalf of ten children, aged between 10 and 17, who faced imminent expulsion without the benefit of hearings or legal counsel. At 2:35 a.m., Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan, appointed during the Biden presidency, granted a sweeping 14-day restraining order covering not only the plaintiffs but all unaccompanied Guatemalan minors currently in US custody without finalized removal orders.
In her ruling, Judge Sooknanan stressed the need for clarity, warning the government not to exploit loopholes. Flights carrying children were grounded, with at least one reportedly forced to turn back mid-air, and minors were redirected into the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The judge said the administration had attempted to circumvent established protections designed by Congress, including the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act.
Government lawyers attempted to justify the deportations by suggesting the children’s families in Guatemala had requested their return. Advocacy groups countered that many minors held active immigration cases and deserved the chance to be heard in court. The National Immigration Law Center condemned the administration’s strategy as an egregious violation of due process, saying Washington’s actions threatened to shred fundamental rights for children seeking safety.
The attempted deportations unfolded quietly over the Labor Day weekend, drawing fierce criticism that Trump’s aggressive deportation policy was exploiting the holiday lull to ram through measures unlikely to survive legal review. Observers said the rushed plan fit a broader pattern in which the Trump administration wielded executive power to attack the most vulnerable migrants while deliberately bypassing both Congress and the courts.
Legal observers now expect the case to move quickly through appeals, with both immigrant advocates and administration officials preparing for another round of confrontation over the limits of executive authority. The temporary restraining order will expire in two weeks unless extended, leaving the fate of hundreds of children in limbo while the political battle intensifies.
According to Al Jazeera, the intervention highlighted not only the immediate threat facing Guatemalan minors but also the broader clash between US immigration policy and international standards of child protection, underscoring how the administration’s maneuvers are fueling both domestic outrage and global condemnation.
