In the dead of night, a courtroom battle brought U.S. deportation flights screeching to a halt. A federal judge in Washington, D.C. blocked the Trump administration’s plan to send Guatemalan children back on planes, many of whom had already been strapped into their seats when the emergency order came through.
The ruling followed a frantic 1 a.m. filing by immigrant rights advocates, who warned that as many as hundreds of unaccompanied minors in U.S. shelters faced imminent removal. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan, roused before dawn, issued a 14-day freeze on deportations—not just for the 10 children named in the case, but for every Guatemalan child currently in government custody.
By Sunday evening, officials confirmed the children had been pulled from departing planes and returned to federal shelters. Some aircraft had even begun taxiing, one reportedly lifting off before circling back under court orders.
The Trump administration, now in its second term, has pressed hard on deportations, including striking a deal with Guatemala to take back children who arrived at the U.S. border alone. White House aide Stephen Miller blasted the ruling, claiming the judge was standing in the way of reunification with parents in Guatemala.
Advocates told a different story. Their complaint warned of children being sent into harm’s way—abuse, neglect, even torture—if returned. Among the plaintiffs: a 10-year-old Indigenous girl whose mother had died, leaving her vulnerable to mistreatment in her home country.
For now, the children remain in shelters scattered across Texas, California, Pennsylvania, and New York, while the court wrestles with the legality—and morality—of deporting minors who arrived in the U.S. without a guardian.
What was meant to be a quiet weekend of deportation flights instead turned into a dramatic reminder: sometimes justice doesn’t wait for business hours.
