
Blue Press Journal (DC) – In a shocking turn of events, a U.S. District Judge has issued an emergency order to halt the Trump administration’s attempt to deport over 600 Guatemalan children who arrived in the United States alone. The order, issued by Judge Sparkle Sooknanan, came after a class action lawsuit was filed by the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) on behalf of the children, who are between the ages of 10 and 17.
The lawsuit was filed in response to reports that the Trump administration had reached an agreement with the Guatemalan government to repatriate the children, who are currently in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The administration’s move was widely criticized as an attempt to circumvent the legal process and deny the children their right to a fair hearing.
Judge Sooknanan’s order, issued just after 4:00 am on Sunday, found that the “exigent circumstances” described in the lawsuit warranted immediate action to maintain the status quo until a hearing can be set. The judge initially scheduled a virtual hearing on the matter for 3:00 pm on Sunday but later moved it up to 12:30 pm after being notified that some of the minors covered by the suit were in the process of being removed from the United States.
The Trump administration’s attempt to deport the children has been widely condemned by immigrant rights advocates, who argue that it is a clear violation of the children’s legal rights. “It is a dark and dangerous moment for this country when our government chooses to target orphaned 10-year-olds and denies them their most basic legal right to present their case before an immigration judge,” said Efrén C. Olivares, vice president of litigation and legal strategy at the NILC.








