Arizona judge blocks Trump administration from deporting migrant Guatemalan and Honduran children

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TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — A federal judge in Arizona on Thursday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from immediately deporting dozens of Guatemalan and Honduran children who came to the U.S. alone.

U.S. District Judge Rosemary Márquez in Tucson granted a preliminary injunction, citing concerns about the steps the government had taken to prepare to deport the children.

“The foundation of Defendants’ argument for their authority to transport Plaintiffs out of the United States is that Defendants are reuniting Plaintiff Children with parents abroad, but counsel could not identify a single instance of coordination between a parent and any government—American or Guatemalan,” she wrote.

The ruling extends the protection for the children living in shelters or foster care after Márquez issued a temporary restraining order over Labor Day weekend. The order was meant to keep the children from being removed until at least Sept. 26.

The lawsuit was filed by the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project on behalf of 57 Guatemalan children and another 12 from Honduras between the ages 3 and 17.

“The Trump Administration is committed to reuniting children with their parents, and to keeping families together,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said. “The lower court wrongly interjected itself into this effort. We look forward to vindication on the legal authority to promote family reunification.”

This lawsuit and a related one in Washington were filed in response to the Trump administration's work to quickly deport Guatemalan migrant children.

Last month, the administration notified shelters — where migrant children traveling alone initially live after they cross the U.S.-Mexico border — that they were going to take them back to Guatemala and that they must be ready in a matter of hours. Many children got as far as boarding planes in Texas on the morning of Aug. 31 and were set to depart to Guatemala.

The Arizona lawsuit is asking for the government to give the children the chance to present their cases and have access to legal counsel. It also wants the children placed in the least restrictive setting that is in their best interest.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has pushed back, saying it is trying to reunite the children with their families, which is in the kids' best interest and at the behest of the Guatemalan government.