Tucson, AZ – A federal judge in Arizona on September 25 granted a preliminary injunction protecting 69 unaccompanied immigrant children from Guatemala and Honduras in government custody in Arizona from being summarily repatriated from the United States without having the chance to present their case to an immigration judge.
“We are grateful that the court has granted this preliminary injunction to ensure that the rights of these children are protected while this litigation continues,” said Laura Belous, Managing Attorney on the Florence Project’s Advocacy Team. “The Trump administration’s attempt to illegally take unaccompanied immigrant children out of the U.S., all of whom have expressed a fear of returning to their home country, against their wishes and before they have had a chance to speak with an immigration judge is blatantly illegal, in direct violation of their rights, and puts children at-risk of harm, including trafficking.”
This decision comes after the court issued a Temporary Restraining Order on August 31, 2025. The Florence Project originally filed this lawsuit on behalf of itself as an organization and 53 children from Guatemala who were at risk for illegal removal over Labor Day Weekend, in direct violation of their rights. The lawsuit was later amended to include four more children from Guatemala who came into government custody after the initial filing, as well as 12 children from Honduras after we received credible reports that the Trump administration may attempt a similar plan with those children. On September 8, the court granted a second Temporary Restraining Order in response to the amended petition, and on September 11, it extended both the first and second Temporary Restraining Orders through September 26.
The lawsuit demands that the government be ordered to follow existing laws that provide protections for unaccompanied children in acknowledgement of their special vulnerabilities. These include the right to present their cases to an immigration judge, to have access to legal counsel, and to be placed in the least restrictive setting that is in the best interest of the child. The government’s plan to remove children to Guatemala or Honduras outside of these protections cruelly ignores decades of long-standing federal law and places children in harm’s way.