Trump Administration Continued to Deport Unaccompanied Children Despite Court Order

The Trump administration has deported at least 66 unaccompanied migrant children since a court ruling ordering them to stop the practice. US District Judge Emmet Sullivan had issued a preliminary injunction that was sought by several civil liberties organizations suing on behalf of the children the government had attempted to deport before they were able to request protection under federal law.

Department of Justice admits to breaking injunction

In a federal court filing in Washington, Justice Department attorneys admitted that children had continues to be deported, they wrote:

“the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) learned that certain class members in this litigation were expelled in contravention of the Court’s preliminary injunction issued on November 18, 2020.”

They also said:

“Defendants regret that class members were expelled contrary to the Court’s
injunction and are committed to full compliance with the Court’s injunction going forward.”

What had the court previously ruled?

During the court case lawyers for the Department of Justice had argued that the coronavirus pandemic meant that rapid deportations of unaccompanied children were necessary to prevent the spread of the virus. The civil liberty organizations, headed by the ACLU had argued that the Trump administration didn’t have the authority to issue the emergency declaration under public health provisions.

District Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled in favor of the ACLU and civil liberty organizations, ordering the administration to stop the practice of deporting unaccompanied minors, of which they has already deported at least 13,000 of.

In a statement about the ruling, ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt, the lead attorney in the case, said:

“Today’s ruling is a critical step in halting the Trump administration’s unprecedented and illegal attempt to expel children under the thin guise of public health.”

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The Trump administration had previously been ordered to halt the deportation of unaccompanied minors [Image credit: Unsplash]