WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from immediately deporting Guatemalan migrant children who came to the U.S. alone back to their home country, the latest step in a court struggle over one of the most sensitive issues in Trump’s hard-line immigration agenda.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly comes after the Republican administration’s Labor Day weekend attempt to remove Guatemalan migrant children who were living in government shelters and foster care.
Trump administration officials claimed they were aiming to reunify children with parents who wished for their return. Kelly rebuffed this explanation, stating, That explanation crumbled like a house of cards about a week later. There is no evidence before the Court that the parents of these children sought their return.
A temporary order was already in place preventing the removal of Guatemalan children. But it was set to expire Tuesday. Judge Kelly, who was appointed by Trump, granted a preliminary injunction that extends that temporary protection indefinitely, allowing the government to appeal.
Kelly did, however, dismiss appeals from advocates who sought to include protections for children from other countries, asserting that future removals in a similar manner would likely be unlawful.
Separate temporary restraining orders exist in Arizona and Illinois, focusing on fewer children, underscoring the significance of the Washington case.
In a late-night operation on August 30, the administration notified shelters housing migrant children that they would be returned to Guatemala, requiring quick preparations for departure.
Contractors for Immigration and Customs Enforcement transported the Guatemalan children from shelters to the airport. Originally, the government identified 457 children for removal, but that number was decreased to 327. Eventually, 76 reached boarding status in El Paso and Harlingen, Texas.
Advocates for immigrant and child welfare immediately sued the Trump administration to prevent the removals, citing that many of these minors were fleeing perilous situations in their homeland and that the government was bypassing essential legal protections designed to protect them from returning to possible abuse.
After a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order against the deportation efforts for Guatemalan children, advocates extended their request for similar protections for children from other nationalities, fearing that the government would target Honduran children as well.
