A federal court has temporarily stopped the U.S. government from deporting several Guatemalan children, raising concerns that the Trump administration’s actions could be infringing on their legal rights.
The ruling, issued Thursday by Judge Timothy Kelly, suspends the removals until a lawsuit challenging the practice is resolved. The plaintiffs argue that the minors—who have not received final deportation orders nor approval from the attorney general for voluntary departure—are entitled to full immigration hearings under U.S. law.
Judge Kelly, who was appointed by President Trump, questioned the manner in which officials carried out the removals. In his written opinion, he criticized the administration for scheduling late-night flights on a holiday weekend and notifying caretakers and advocates at the last minute, remarking that such conduct hardly reflected confidence in their own authority. He also warned the government not to interpret the decision as a green light to attempt similar expulsions of other unaccompanied minors.
The lawsuit, brought by the National Immigration Law Center, involves 10 Guatemalan children between the ages of 10 and 17. Most are still navigating immigration proceedings. Attorneys emphasized that sending them back could expose them to serious danger, citing the case of a 10-year-old Indigenous child who had previously suffered abuse in Guatemala. Affidavits submitted to the court described traumatizing scenes: one girl vomited from fear, while a teenager reported being pulled from his bed at 2 a.m. and said he felt like he “lost his breath.” Another child confessed she might harm herself if forced to return.
Neither the Justice Department nor the Department of Health and Human Services offered comment on the ruling.
Judge Kelly stressed that Congress had outlined clear procedures for handling unaccompanied minors and suggested that the administration’s secretive deportation efforts attempted to bypass those safeguards. “The plaintiffs face irreparable harm if the injunction is not granted,” he wrote, concluding that the balance of equities favored halting the removals.
Efrén C. Olivares, vice president of litigation at the National Immigration Law Center, hailed the ruling as a vital step in protecting children. He said the court had sent a strong message that the government cannot ignore due process protections when dealing with vulnerable minors.
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