Washington, Aug 30 (UNI) In an unprecedented move, the Trump administration has decided to repatriate hundreds of Guatemalan children in government custody who arrived in the United States alone.
It’s the latest in a series of moves since President Donald Trump returned to office focused on unaccompanied migrant children in the United States — in this case, plucking kids out of government custody, where they’re waiting to be released to a relative or guardian in the US who can care for them while they make their case for protection, and sending them to Guatemala, where they’re expected to be reunited with family, reports CNN.
The administration has identified more than 600 children from Guatemala in the custody of the Health and Human Services Department, which is charged with their care until they can be released, to potentially deport as a part of a pilot programme in coordination with the Guatemalan government.
It’s unclear what immigration process the administration plans to use to remove the children, though discussions have included voluntary departure.
There are just under 2,000 children, ranging in age, in HHS custody, according to federal data.
The majority of the unaccompanied migrant children who arrive to the US southern border are from Guatemala, Honduras or El Salvador.
This week, the administration directed federal field specialists, who serve as regional liaisons to care providers and stakeholders, to cease all releases of Guatemalan children into the custody of certain sponsors, like relatives. They were also told to halt approvals of sponsors for Guatemalan children who are in government custody and don’t have a parent in the United States, according to guidance reviewed by CNN.
Unaccompanied children residing in the US are usually afforded special protections given that they are considered a vulnerable population. They are generally placed with family members already living in the US but are still deemed unaccompanied because they entered the country alone.
Similarly, children from Mexico and Canada have been asked to voluntarily depart as part of the removal process along the US southern border, though that hasn’t been true for kids of other nationalities.
