Biden-era Judge Sparkle Sooknanan stops Trump from reuniting migrant children with parents in home countries

A judge appointed by former President Joe Biden has blocked the Trump administration from flying illegal immigrant children out of the United States to be with their families in their home countries. The decision adds to the number of moves judges have taken against President Donald Trump regarding the issue of immigration and border enforcement.

The emergency order to stop the planes from departing with the minors came from US District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan, who froze the pilot program that the administration said would have reunited 700 children and families in Guatemala, per Fox News.

"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," DOJ lawyer Drew Ensign told the judge. When the judge intervened in the case, charter buses with children had already gotten to planes in Texas and were ready to depart.

Immigration advocacy groups dismissed the explanation, with activist Efrén Olivares of the National Immigration Law Center claiming, "It is a dark and dangerous moment when our government chooses to target orphaned 10-year-olds."

A lawsuit was filed against the Trump administration over the repatriations at 1 am on Sunday, with the plaintiffs accusing the Trump administration of violating a 2008 law that is used to protect minors from deportation. One of the lead plaintiffs in the case was a 10-year-old girl whose mother died in Guatemala. "I have the government attempting to remove minor children from the country in the wee hours of the morning on a holiday weekend, which is surprising, but here we are," the judge said.

The White House has said that the removals were coordinated with the Guatemalan government and reunite families as the advocacy groups claimed it was a rushed process to avoid hearings or allow for asylum claims from the minors.

The Guatemalan foreign minister said that the country was ready to take the children, and President Bernardo Arévalo called it a "moral and legal obligation."