A sign is displayed outside of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services headquarters at the Hubert H. Humphrey Building on June 2, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
"I don’t have anything specific that I can refer to contest the Guatemalan AG’s report," Welch said, though she also said that some children have signaled they are interested in returning home.
The judge's order arose from a lawsuit brought against the Trump administration after federal authorities woke up 70 minors, aged 10 to 17, in the middle of the night over Labor Day weekend while they were in HHS custody and transferred them to a plane bound for Guatemala.
Attorneys for some of the minors secured an emergency restraining order from Judge Sparkle Sooknanan that prevented their imminent deportation. Kelly's order effectively extends that order indefinitely.
The Trump administration could appeal the decision. Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
The minors' attorneys argued their clients were at imminent risk of removal despite some having pending asylum cases or other legal claims that had not fully been vetted by the courts.
LAWYERS CHALLENGE DEPORTATION OF HUNDREDS OF MINORS TO GUATEMALA
A woman shows a cellphone to a Guatemalan migrant deported from the United States inside a bus after his arrival at the Guatemalan Air Force Base in Guatemala City on Aug. 31, 2025. (JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP via Getty Images)
Sooknanan initially addressed the lawsuit over Labor Day weekend, but Kelly has since taken the case over.
Trump administration officials, including a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, had excoriated Sooknanan when he issued her order, claiming the judge was blocking children from returning to their parents.
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"Judge Sparkle [Sooknanan] is blocking flights to *reunify* Guatemalan children with their families," DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin wrote on social media at the time. "Now these children have to go to shelters. This is disgusting and immoral."
The minors' attorneys argued in court papers that trafficking and immigration laws "prevent unaccompanied children from being whisked off under cover of darkness at the whim of any government." The minors in question are currently in Health and Human Services custody and have no legal guardians in the United States, the attorneys have said.
Ashley Oliver is a reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business, covering the Justice Department and legal affairs. Email story tips to ashley.oliver@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/federal-judge-blocks-trump-administration-from-deporting-hundreds-guatemalan-minors