The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
September 2, 2025

Judge Rules Over 600 Unaccompanied Guatemalan Children Can Stay in the U.S.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Trump administration tried to deport over 600 unaccompanied
Guatemalan children over Labor Day weekend, but a federal judge
temporarily halted their removal, ruling the action was unlawful. The
National Immigration Law Center filed an emergency request to stop the
deportation flights, saying the children "face abuse, neglect,
persecution, or torture" if deported to Guatemala. As the children were
loaded onto planes in Texas and waiting on the tarmac, U.S. District
Judge Sparkle Sooknanan was woken at 2:35 a.m. to address the case. She
later issued a 14-day restraining order allowing the children to stay in
the U.S., for now, to challenge their removal. We'll have more on this
story after headlines.


.