Administration's plan to promptly expel Guatemalan youth migrants halted by court ruling
In a significant development, U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly has granted a preliminary injunction, indefinitely extending the protection from the removal of Guatemalan children living in the United States. The decision comes following a lawsuit filed by immigration and children's advocates against the Trump administration.
Initially, the government identified 457 children for possible removal to Guatemala, but this list was eventually reduced to 327. The government argued that it had the right to return these children, but it walked back an initial claim alleging the parents requested their children be sent back. However, according to Judge Kelly's order, there is no evidence that the parents of these children sought their return.
The government's attempt to remove these children was blocked by Judge Kelly's order, which came after a late-night operation on Aug. 30, when the administration notified shelters where migrant children traveling alone initially live after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border that they would be returning the children to Guatemala and needed them ready to leave in a matter of hours.
Advocates for the children submitted a whistleblower account suggesting many of the children were victims of child abuse, including death threats, gang violence, and human trafficking. Elisabeth Toca, sponsoring a boy, is still hoping to give him a better life, while Bertilda López, the mother of one of the Guatemalan children, expressed mixed feelings about the judge's decision.
The judge's order applies only to Guatemalan children for now, but advocates have asked the court to extend protections from deportation to children of other nationalities, including Honduran children. Kelly rebuffed advocates' push to block the removal of children from additional countries, but stated any similar attempt would likely be unlawful.
The Guatemalan government declined to comment on the case, citing it as an internal U.S. justice process. The initial 14-day order was set to expire on Sunday, but Kelly extended it through Tuesday to examine the case further.
It is worth noting that the names of the lawyers who led the negotiations against the Trump administration regarding the deportation of migrant children from Guatemala and other countries are not explicitly mentioned in the available search results.
In a broader context, the Guatemalan government expressed concern over minors in U.S. custody who were going to turn 18 and would then be at risk of being turned over to adult detention facilities. The judge's decision to extend the protections indefinitely provides a temporary reprieve for these children, offering them a chance to seek asylum and a better life in the United States.
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