Washington, DC – Today, in response to reports that federal officials are not complying with a temporary restraining order issued earlier today that pauses the forced returns of hundreds of Guatemalan unaccompanied children in U.S. custody, Kids in Need of Defense President Wendy Young issued the following statement:
“We praise this morning’s federal court temporary restraining order blocking the mass, forced returns of Guatemalan children in U.S. custody. As our colleagues at the National Immigration Law Center effectively argued, many of these children fled violence, trafficking, abuse, persecution, and other grave harm in Guatemala and fear return to these same dangers. As the court order reflects, under longstanding anti-trafficking laws, these children must receive a full and fair opportunity to pursue humanitarian protection in the United States. We urge the administration to immediately and fully comply with the court’s order, as well as moving forward to faithfully uphold these bedrock laws that were passed by Congress on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis precisely to prevent the return of unaccompanied children to trafficking and other harm.”
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For more information or to speak with a member of KIND’s team, please contact Megan McKenna at mmckenna@supportkind.org