U.S. Court Blocks Deportation of Guatemalan Minors Amid Legal Dispute

A federal judge in the United States has extended a block on a Trump administration policy that sought to deport unaccompanied Guatemalan minors with active immigration cases. The decision keeps the policy frozen until further review.

The legal contention arose after U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly questioned the accuracy of a Justice Department lawyer's statement claiming parents had requested their children's deportation. A subsequent report indicated that many parents could not be contacted, and some of those who were did not want their children returned to Guatemala.

The head of the Guatemalan Attorney General's Office for Children and Adolescents revealed that they had never been asked to receive so many minors at one time. Many of these children hail from impoverished, Indigenous regions in Guatemala, and their families often make significant financial sacrifices for their migration journeys.

(With inputs from agencies.)