A federal judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from deporting hundreds of Guatemalan minors who are in U.S. government custody, extending an emergency injunction that had previously halted flights to remove them.
Judge Timothy J. Kelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued the order, signaling skepticism about the removals after a hearing the previous week and citing statements from the minors describing fears of violence or neglect if returned to Guatemala.
The decision arrives as the government has walked back claims that it intended to reunite the youths with their parents. The court considered a report from the Guatemalan attorney general’s office that plaintiffs submitted, which said Health and Human Services notified Guatemala it planned to return more than 600 minors and that no parents had requested the returns.
Lawyers for the minors argued that removals could occur under conditions that constitute trafficking and that many children have pending asylum petitions or other legal claims that have not yet been fully vetted by the courts.
Kelly’s order follows an emergency restraining order issued by Judge Sparkle Sooknanan over Labor Day weekend after federal authorities woke about 70 minors in HHS custody and moved them onto aircraft bound for Guatemala. Kelly has since taken over the case.
U.S. Homeland Security officials had criticized Sooknanan’s handling of the case, saying the judge’s actions blocked flights to reunify minors with their families.
The minors remain in HHS custody and have no guardians in the United States, and some have signaled an interest in returning home while others pursue asylum or other legal options.
The administration could appeal the ruling, which would leave the injunction in place while the matter proceeds.
The case highlights ongoing disputes over how unaccompanied migrant minors are processed and when, if ever, they can be removed from the United States.
DHS did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.
