Lawyers Ask Judge to Block Deportation of Hundreds of Guatemalan Minors
Attorneys say children in HHS custody — some with pending asylum claims — face risk of neglect or persecution if returned; they seek a longer-term injunction after an emergency halt
Immigrant-rights lawyers asked a federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to block the Trump administration from deporting hundreds of Guatemalan minors, arguing that the children could face neglect or persecution if returned to their home country.
The petitioners said the migrants, who range in age from 10 to 17, are in the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services and have no legal guardians in the United States. Some have pending asylum applications or other legal claims that, the lawyers contend, have not been fully vetted by the courts and therefore do not justify imminent repatriation.
Attorneys told the court that trafficking and immigration statutes are intended to protect unaccompanied children from being removed "under cover of darkness at the whim of any government." They said officials were preparing to move the children despite those protections and without adequate notice to counsel or the courts.
Judge Sparkle Sooknanan issued an emergency order that temporarily halted the planned repatriations. The lawyers are seeking a longer-term injunction to replace the emergency relief, arguing that the broader pause is necessary while the court evaluates asylum claims, credible-fear screenings and other legal safeguards.
The filings say that deporting children before their claims are fully adjudicated could expose them to violence, abandonment or persecution in Guatemala. The lawyers described circumstances they said heighten those risks, including reports of familial instability and gang-related threats in parts of the country.
Federal law generally requires that unaccompanied alien children be placed in the least restrictive setting and that certain protections be observed before removal. The lawyers cited those statutory protections in asking the judge to bar any further repatriations of the named minors until the court has reviewed their individual circumstances.
The children remain in the custody of HHS while their legal cases proceed. The department typically places unaccompanied minors with sponsors, relatives or in licensed care facilities while immigration claims are adjudicated, but the plaintiffs said many of the children in this case lack sponsors or verified guardians in the United States.
Advocacy groups and immigrant-rights lawyers brought the suit in federal court in Washington. They asked the court to declare that planned removals would violate both federal trafficking and immigration statutes and to enjoin the government from carrying out repatriations of the children named in the complaint.
The administration did not immediately file a public response in court papers made available Wednesday. Department of Justice and HHS spokespeople did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The case highlights continuing tensions over U.S. policy toward unaccompanied minors at the southern border and the legal procedures that govern asylum and removal. Lawyers for migrant children say expedited repatriations risk circumventing established screenings; government officials have said in other contexts that swift removals are necessary to manage migration flows. The court will determine whether the emergency order should be extended into a longer-term injunction while such questions are litigated.
