Overview

• The preliminary injunction bars deporting or transferring unaccompanied Guatemalan minors in ORR custody who lack a final removal order or attorney general–approved voluntary departure while the case proceeds.
• Judge Timothy J. Kelly found the plan likely violated the TVPRA’s required process for minors and noted similar removals of other nationalities would likely be unlawful.
• The Labor Day weekend operation targeted hundreds: officials narrowed a list from 609 to 327, and 76 children reached planes on Aug. 31 before emergency court orders stopped the flights.
• The Justice Department withdrew its claim that parents sought the children’s return after a Guatemalan Attorney General report showed most families were unreachable and none requested repatriation.
• DHS criticized the ruling as blocking reunifications and may appeal, while narrower temporary restraining orders in other jurisdictions remain in effect.