President Donald Trump’s promise to deport illegal immigrants is one he has taken massive steps to fulfill, even down to unaccompanied children.

According to a recent report by Fox News, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from the deportation of more than 75 minors at the very last second.

The judge put a temporary block on the administration's decision to send 76 unaccompanied Guatemalan children back to their country of origin in an emergency hearing.

U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan moved the hearing from 3 p.m. on Sunday to 12:30 p.m. on Sunday after the court was notified that the removal was in progress.

The removal process

Migrant children were waiting on tarmacs on Sunday when the judge blocked the flights, siding with the attorneys for the children.

The legal representatives argued that the Trump administration would be breaking the laws by sending the children back to a country where there was potential peril for the minors.

Kids were waiting on the holiday weekend on tarmacs in Texas when the Washington courtroom drama played out with Trump’s immigration policies at the center of the issue.

Sooknanan’s ruling decided that Guatemalan children who arrived without parents or guardians will be allowed to stay at least two weeks while their legal battle is ongoing.

From the judge

“I do not want there to be any ambiguity,” said Sooknanan.

The judge went on to say that, “The Court ORDERS that the Defendants cease any ongoing efforts to transfer, repatriate, remove, or otherwise facilitate the transport of any Plaintiff or member of the putative class from the United States.

"The putative class includes all Guatemalan unaccompanied minors in Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement custody as of 1:02 AM on August 31, 2025, the time of the filing of the Complaint, who are not subject to an executable final order of removal.”

The aftermath

Following news of the judge’s order, the children were deplaned and put immediately into the process of returning to the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement Sunday evening.

JUST IN: Judge Cobb has blocked the Trump administration’s effort to extend rapid-fire deportation procedures to immigrants who have been in the U.S. more than two years — warning that it is a flagrant deprivation of due process that could ensnare anyone. https://t.co/cZTdj6JjpC pic.twitter.com/zE2uIuduYv

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) August 30, 2025

A similar event took place in March when several Venezuelan migrants were deported to the CECOT prison in El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act, and a judge issued a temporary restraining order to bar the removals.