Federal judge stops repatriation of nearly 700 immigrant children to Guatemala

A competitively appointed federal judge suddenly prevents the Trump administration from escaping hundreds of illegal foreign children over Labor Day weekend after immigration advocacy groups arrived at court Mass deportation In the dark night.

U.S. District Court judge’s emergency order Sparkle Sooknanan has frozen a pilot program where the government will reunite nearly 700 children with parents or guardians in Guatemala.

When the judge intervened, the Charter bus had rolled onto the planes in Harlingen and El Paso, and in some cases the children were sitting on board waiting to set off.

Second Lieutenant Drew, a lawyer at the Department of Justice, told the court: “These are not carried out under the regulations.

“Illegal and Crazy”: Trump administrators fight after judges terminate the removal of judges

Advocates rejected this explanation, National Immigration “It’s a dark and dangerous moment when our government chooses to target orphans who are 10 years old,” the Legal Center (NILC) efrénolivares said to the counter.

The lawsuit, LGML v. Noem, was filed after 1 a.m. Sunday, accusing the Trump administration of announcing in a 2008 law that immigrant rights groups often cited to protect minors’ dismissals.

The defendant is called the Attorney General Pam Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi NoemSecretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Federal judge blocks Trump administration from deporting eight immigrants to South Sudan

People boarded the plane on Sunday, August 31, 2025 in Harlingen, Texas, as four charter buses were pulled to the side of the airport to unload dozens of passengers. (AP Photo/Valerie Gonzalez)

The chief plaintiff is a girl who is only 10 years old, with only her abbreviation, and her mother died in Guatemala. “I have the government trying to evacuate minor children from the country in the early mornings of holiday weekends, which is surprising, but we are here,” Judge Sooknanan scolded the Trump administration for saying in an emergency hearing.

The Trump administration insists that the flights are legal reunions in negotiations with the Guatemala government, while advocacy groups believe that children are kicked out without a hearing or have a chance to seek asylum.

People are waiting for their loved ones from Guatemala to deport from the United States outside the La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala city on Sunday, August 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

The foreign minister in Guatemala confirmed that the country is ready to take care of its children, which President Bernardo Arévalo calls it a “moral and legal obligation.”

Unaccompanied children who arrive in the United States illegally are often handed over to the HHS’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) while preparing for immigration cases. Guatemalans often ask for asylum to stay in the United States.

Currently, hundreds of Guatemalan minors remain in the United States while the legal battle is underway. according to The Associated Press reportMany immigrant family members gathered at airports in Central American countries, looking forward to their arrival.

The entire emergency movement can be Read here.

Click here to get the Fox News app

The Department of Justice, HHS, ICE, the State Department, New York City and Guatemala embassies did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.