Federal Judge Blocks Deportation of Unaccompanied Guatemalan Children

A temporary restraining order blocking the removals was originally issued by Judge Sooknanan on Aug. 31.

People wait for loved ones from Guatemala deported from the United States, outside La Aurora International Airport, in Guatemala City, on Aug. 31, 2025. Moises Castillo/AP Photo

A federal district judge on Sept. 18 formally blocked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from deporting a group of Guatemalan children who entered the United States illegally and without parents.

The new order issued by Judge Timothy Kelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia covers 10 plaintiffs whom the DHS wants to remove from the United States, as well as an unspecified number of children already in federal custody.