Aug. 31 (UPI) -- A federal judge in Washington on Sunday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting a group of Guatemalan children in U.S. custody, after advocates warned that flights carrying the minors were already preparing to depart.
The case was filed on behalf of ten Guatemalan unaccompanied minors, ages 10 to 17, who remain in government shelters and foster care across the country, court records show.
The children are backed by the Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights, which asked the court to block what it called an unlawful plan to summarily deport hundreds of Guatemalan minors despite ongoing immigration proceedings and legal protections guaranteed under federal law.
Court filings say the administration identified more than 600 children for removal under a pilot program negotiated with Guatemala. The Young Center alleged that officials had started transferring children out of the Office of Refugee Resettlement's custody and into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody to board deportation flights within hours of the complaint being filed.
The lawsuit names senior officials across multiple agencies, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Attorney General Pamela Bondi, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
