Legal Action Aims to Halt Deportation Plans for Honduran Children
Concerned about potential deportations, a legal aid organization has proactively taken steps to prevent the removal of Honduran children from the United States. The Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project (FIRRP), based in Arizona, has expanded a lawsuit to include these children, citing “credible” information about imminent deportation plans.
FIRRP’s recent amendment to their lawsuit, initially filed to stop the deportation of Guatemalan children, comes amid reports that the U.S. government intends to deport Honduran children in federal custody. The organization claims this would violate their rights to seek asylum in the U.S. and contravene ongoing legal proceedings that have already halted similar deportation efforts for Guatemalan minors.
The details of the information received by FIRRP regarding the deportation plans remain undisclosed as the lawsuit amendment is sealed in federal court. The Department of Homeland Security has not responded to requests for comments over the weekend.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration attempted to deport Guatemalan children who had arrived in the U.S. unaccompanied and were residing in shelters or foster care. This move prompted lawsuits from child advocates across the nation, leading to a federal judge’s intervention, which temporarily prevented the children’s removal for two weeks. More details on this can be found here.
The trend of unaccompanied minors crossing the U.S.-Mexico border surged in 2014, with numbers reaching 152,060 in the 2022 fiscal year. This trend has since slowed, with current arrest rates suggesting a significant decline in illegal border crossings, as detailed here.
At government-run facilities last year, Guatemalan children represented 32% of the population, followed by Hondurans, Mexicans, and El Salvadorans. Under U.S. law, children from countries other than Canada and Mexico must appear before an immigration judge to potentially seek asylum. They are often released to family members while their cases are processed in court.
The amended lawsuit includes 12 Honduran children and four additional Guatemalan children who are currently in government custody in Arizona. Many of these children have parents already residing in the U.S. The lawsuit demands that the government respect the children’s legal rights, including the right to present their cases to an immigration judge, access to legal representation, and placement in settings that prioritize their best interests.
For more information about the previous attempts to deport Guatemalan children, refer to this article.
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