Washington, D.C. – Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) applauds today’s federal court order that prohibits the removal of all unaccompanied children from Guatemala who are or will be in federal government custody, unless they have a final order of removal or voluntary departure. Today’s ruling comes after the court temporarily blocked the Administration’s plan to return hundreds of unaccompanied children to Guatemala, despite longstanding anti-trafficking laws that require unaccompanied children to receive a full and fair opportunity to pursue humanitarian protection in the United States. KIND’s President Wendy Young issued the following statement on today’s order:
“Unaccompanied children should never be removed from the United States without a full and fair process to determine if they are eligible for U.S. protection. A bipartisan anti-trafficking law created to protect these children from this very danger guarantees that unaccompanied children can pursue humanitarian protection and will not be removed without review by an immigration judge following an individualized, fair, and objective legal proceeding. KIND clients from Guatemala whose future was hanging in the balance were terrified by the prospect of being forced to return to Guatemala, a result neither they nor their parents had requested, contrary to government representations. These children and hundreds more can now breathe easier knowing that they will still have a fair chance to make their case for U.S. protection as provided under law. No child, regardless of where they are from, should have this right taken away and be forced to return to the very dangers they fled.”
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Media Contact: Megan McKenna, mmckenna@supportkind.org, 202-631-9990