Judge’s Emergency Halt Dramatically Blocks Trump From Deporting Guatemalan Kids as Planes Were Ready to Takeoff

Sean James Aug 31st, 2025, 4:51 pm

(AP Photo/Valerie Gonzalez)

A federal judge early on Sunday morning blocked President Donald Trump ‘s administration from deporting hundreds of Guatemalan children — with the order coming as some of the kids were sitting on planes in Texas, ready to be sent back to their home country.

U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan in Washington, D.C. temporarily halted the move at 4:00 a.m. ET, after attorneys for the roughly 600 kids said they did not have a chance to contest their deportation. Sooknanan held an emergency hearing at 12:30 p.m. ET on Sunday to weigh the circumstances.

“I have the government attempting to remove minor children

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