Trump Guatemalan children deportation blocked
A federal judge has halted the Trump Guatemalan children deportation effort. District Court Judge Sparkle Sooknanan issued a temporary restraining order on Sunday, stopping flights that would have returned dozens of unaccompanied minors to Guatemala.
The ruling came after immigrant advocacy groups sought an emergency injunction. They warned that around 600 children were at risk of being deported from Texas despite having pending cases and fears of persecution.
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Details of the court order
Judge Sooknanan, nominated by President Joe Biden, first barred the deportation of 10 minors aged 10–17. She then expanded the order to cover all unaccompanied children at risk. The ruling will remain in place for 14 days.
At the emergency hearing, the judge pressed Trump administration lawyers for assurances that no planes had departed. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign said all flights were still on the ground and one had already returned.
Officials argued the flights were not deportations but reunifications with families in Guatemala. Advocacy groups disputed this, saying some children had relatives in the US and credible fears of return.
Reaction from stakeholders
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo criticised the ruling. He pledged to continue pushing for reunifications through a pilot program agreed with President Trump.
Advocates welcomed the court’s intervention. “In the dead of night on a holiday weekend, the Trump administration ripped vulnerable, frightened children from their beds and attempted to return them to danger in Guatemala,” said Efrén C Olivares of the National Immigration Law Center. He praised the judge for stopping what he called an injustice.
Meanwhile, White House immigration advisor Stephen Miller attacked the ruling. On X, he wrote: “The minors have all self-reported that their parents are back home in Guatemala. But a Democrat judge is refusing to let them reunify with their parents.”
Wider immigration context
The Trump Guatemalan children deportation case highlights the administration’s renewed push to expel undocumented migrants. Deportation has been a central pledge of Trump’s second term. In June, the US Supreme Court cleared the way for removals to third countries without requiring officials to assess risks faced by migrants.
For now, the restraining order pauses flights for two weeks. The next hearings will determine whether the deportation effort violates federal protections for unaccompanied minors or if it can resume.
