Overview

• U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly issued a preliminary injunction blocking removals of Guatemalan children in ORR custody who lack final removal orders or attorney general permission to depart.
• Kelly rejected the administration’s reunification rationale, citing a Guatemalan attorney general’s report indicating no parents had asked for their children to be returned.
• The ruling follows a late‑night Labor Day operation that moved dozens toward flights, with 76 children reaching planes in Texas before emergency court orders stopped departures.
• Court filings describe severe distress among minors and include a whistleblower allegation that safety screenings of identified children were incomplete.
• The order is narrower than advocates sought, covers only Guatemalan minors for now, other temporary blocks remain in separate cases, the administration may appeal, and a separate Ninth Circuit decision dealt the administration another setback on Venezuelan TPS.