The Trump administration says they were sending illegal alien Guatemalan children back to their home country at the request of their parents and the government of the Central American country. Immigration advocacy groups say the administration was conducting illegal deportation operations in the middle of the night.
Whoever is correct, the planes are grounded for now after a Biden-appointed judge issued a temporary restraining order Sunday—even as kids were already sitting in their seats.
The emergency order by U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan froze a pilot program the administration said would reunite nearly 700 kids with parents or guardians in Guatemala.
By the time the judge intervened, charter buses had already rolled up to planes in Harlingen and El Paso and, in some cases, children were seated on board awaiting departure.
Justice Department lawyer Drew Ensign told the court, “These are not removals under the statute. These are repatriations. All of these children have parents or guardians in Guatemala who have requested their return.”
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller was infuriated by the move, which he says denies the children the opportunity to be reunited with their parents:
It’s actually much worse than even that. These smuggled migrant children were orphaned in America by the Biden Administration. The minors have all self-reported that their parents are back home in Guatemala. But a Democrat judge is refusing to let them reunify with their parents. https://t.co/o3h6e0YsMC
— Stephen Miller (@StephenM) August 31, 2025
READ MORE: DHS Comes Tweets a Blazin’ for CNN Over Their Hero Worship of Illegal Alien Criminals
No, That Wood-Chopping Illegal Alien in Washington State Is Not a ‘Firefighter’ or ‘Victim’
The judge admitted that it was an extraordinary ruling—but we’re getting used to those lately.
Sooknanan conceded her temporary restraining order, which is set to last 14 days, is “extraordinary” but justified it on the grounds that the government had decided to “execute a plan to remove these children” in the “wee hours” of a holiday weekend.
Miller disagreed:
The government of Guatemala has formally requested their return. And there are tens of thousands more smuggled minors orphaned in America by the Biden Administration that Democrats are refusing to allow back home with their families.
— Stephen Miller (@StephenM) August 31, 2025
Cleaning up the mess that Biden made was never going to be easy—his dereliction of duty (or purposeful malfeasance) led to millions of illegal aliens flooding our borders. Now the mainstream press and the Democrats cry foul and shriek “cruelty” at any efforts to rectify the situation, when in reality it was they themselves who created this humanitarian disaster.
The job is made that much harder by the never-ending interference of judges who seem to slap on restraining orders on the administration’s efforts on an almost daily basis. Some of the cases may have merit, and that’s why we have checks and balances, but when a huge number of the decisions coming down from the lower courts seem to go one way only, one can’t help but have questions.
Thanks to President Trump, illegal immigration into our great country has virtually stopped. Despite the radical left’s lies, new legislation wasn’t needed to secure our border, just a new president.
Help us continue to report the truth about the president’s border policies and mass deportations. Join RedState’s VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
