Federal judge blocks deportations of unaccompanied Guatemalan minors

A federal judge in Washington on Sunday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting unaccompanied Guatemalan children, issuing an emergency restraining order after immigrant advocates sued and lawyers warned that officials were moving children onto flights at several U.S. sites. U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan granted the order in the early hours and set an urgent hearing for Sunday afternoon to determine whether the pause should be extended.

The complaint was filed late Saturday on behalf of 10 children between the ages of 10 and 17 who are in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. Attorneys from the National Immigration Law Center and the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights argued that the administration’s undisclosed plan to repatriate hundreds of Guatemalan minors would improperly circumvent legal protections Congress has afforded unaccompanied children, including exemptions from expedited removal and the right to have claims heard before an immigration judge.

Judge Sooknanan issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the deportation of the named plaintiffs for 14 days and said her ruling applies broadly to Guatemalan minors...