Judge Blocks Deportation of Hundreds of Unaccompanied Children

Aug 31, 2025 2:41 PM ET
by Rebecca Schneid

... The last-minute order wrapped up a frenetic legal battle that began in the early hours of Sunday morning when immigration advocacy groups filed a lawsuit after discovering shelters holding unaccompanied children were abruptly told to prepare them for deportation within two hours.

District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan issued a temporary block on the deportations at 4 a.m. and called a hearing for Sunday afternoon. That hearing was moved forward when she heard the deportations were already underway. A government lawyer later said one plane had taken off, but later came back when the order was issued.

“I do not want there to be any ambiguity,” she said, calling for the children to be taken off the planes and adding that her ruling applies broadly to Guatemalan minors who arrived in the U.S. without their parents or guardians.

Lawyers from the National Immigrant Law Center (NILC) said the children—who are in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR)—were due to be handed over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and deported to Guatemala on Sunday ...

https://time.com/7313641/deportation-guatemala-ice-judge-blocked/