CNN
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A federal judge temporarily blocked this Sunday afternoon the repatriation of Guatemalan minors not accompanied in custody in the United States, while the government was in the process of repatriating some of them during the early morning.
A notice sent to lawyers about repatriations unleashed an emergency mobilization at dawn on Sunday, according to several defenders, who claim that the children were awakened in the middle of the night and that they would be in danger if they are returned to their country of origin.
CNN first reported that Donald Trump’s government was moving forward in the repatriation of hundreds of Guatemalan children who arrived in the United States not accompanied, in coordination with the Government of Guatemala.
During a hearing on Sunday, Judge Sparkle L. Sooknan, appointed by President Biden, said she received a call around 2:36 a. m. informing him that the children were being prosecuted for repatriation to Guatemala.
“We have the Government trying to remove children not accompanied by the country in the early morning, during a holiday, which is surprising … but here we are,” he said.
Sooknanan asked the Department of Justice to present evidence to support his statement that the parents or legal guardians of the minors had requested their return.
The lawyer of the Department of Justice, Drew Ensign, said before the Court: “That is what they have told me”, while the lawyers who challenge deportations argued that this was false. The judge gave the government until Friday to present a formal answer to that question. For their part, the plaintiffs agreed to submit an urgent motion to request a preliminary judicial order no later than Tuesday, and the response of the Department of Justice must be delivered on Friday.
Sooknan reiterated his order that the United States government did not deport any of the individual plaintiffs or other guatemalcos minors not accompanied in American custody, whom he considered part of the group protected by the order, for a period of two weeks. During the hearing, the judge asked the lawyer of the Department of Justice to clarify the whereabouts of the minors, some of which had already been uploaded to airplanes. According to the Department of Justice, these children are expected to be returned to American custody.
At least one aircraft in Texas transported Guatemalan children was returned, according to Neha Desai, general director of Human Rights and Dignity of Children at the National Center for Youth Law.
Legal services providers working with minors were notified by the refugee resettlement office, responsible for the care of migrant children, that Guatemala had “requested the return of certain foreign minors not accompanied in federal custody with the purpose of reunitifying them with suitable family members,” according to a notification obtained by CNN.
It is believed that minors, of different ages, do not have a father in the United States, although they can have a relative, and they do have a father or legal guardian in Guatemala. The criteria also include minors without pending asylum and that are not at risk of being victims of trafficking when returning, according to the notification.
But lawyers representing some of the minors say that those who have been identified are in danger if they return to Guatemala and are immersed in ongoing migratory processes.
In a lawsuit filed early to stop the measure, lawyers argued that the Trump administration is violating the United States law, which grants special protections to not accompanied migrants and guarantees that they are not deported without due process or the opportunity to request relief against deportation.
CNN contacted the White House, as well as health and human security departments and national security to request comments.
The plaintiffs in the case, presented in the US district court of the Columbia district, are 10 unaccompanied Guatemalan minors, between 10 and 17 years, who have been identified for deportation, most of which have open migratory processes.
One of those minors, a 10 -year -old indigenous girl, “suffered abuse and negligence from other caregivers” in Guatemala. His mother has died.
The immigration lawyer that represents several Guatemalan children told CNN that the minors were “terrified and confused.”
“The reaction when they are explained what is happening is disbelief. They are very scared. Everyone says they fear returning to Guatemala for different reasons,” said the lawyer. “They literally took them out of their beds in the middle of the night, during a festive weekend.”
On Saturday night, the refugee resettlement office also notified the shelters that serve unaccompanied migrants who were identified children “to reunification with their parents and/or legal guardians” in the country of origin, and that they should be ready to leave in two hours, or in four hours if the minor is in a temporary care program, after receiving the notification, according to the message obtained by CNN.
The minors, according to the notice, must be ready to travel, including adequate documentation, medications, personal belongings and two prepared bag lunches.
