Federal Judge Blocks Deportation of Unaccompanied Guatemalan Children (Connecting the Dots: Judge Sparkle Sooknanan, Judge Juan Merchan, Hofstra University, Christopher Christie, Michael Bloomberg, Harlem Children's Zone & Soros Funding, All Networking)
The
plaintiffs’ lawyers say DHS is violating federal law by moving forward with the
removals.
The Epoch
Times
Matthew
Vadum
8/31/2025|Updated:
8/31/2025
A
federal district judge blocked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on
Aug. 31 from deporting a group of unaccompanied Guatemalan children.
The
temporary restraining order by District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan of the U.S.
District Court for the District of Columbia was issued at about 4 a.m. on Aug. 31. The class
action is known as L.G.M.L. v. Noem.
Sooknanan’s
order states that the government may not remove “any of the individual
Plaintiffs from the United States for 14 days absent further Order of the
Court.”
The
order states that the “exigent circumstances” laid out in the legal complaint
justified prompt action “to maintain the status quo until a hearing can be
set.”
The
legal complaint,
filed mere hours before the order was issued, was filed on behalf of 10
unaccompanied minors from Guatemala whom DHS wants to remove from the United
States. Their removal is “in clear violation of the unambiguous protections
that Congress has provided them as vulnerable children,” the complaint says.
The
plaintiffs are involved in “active proceedings before immigration courts across
the country, yet [DHS plans] to remove them in violation of the Trafficking
Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, the Immigration and Nationality
Act, and the Constitution.”
The
Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act provides that unaccompanied
minors from the contiguous countries of Mexico and Canada who are present in
the United States may be returned to their home countries if they meet certain
criteria. The minors must be determined not to be victims of human trafficking
and not to have a fear of returning to their home countries.
The
statute provides that unaccompanied children from non-contiguous countries,
such as Guatemala, should be treated differently. Such children must be placed
with the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which is part of the Department of
Health and Human Services, and put in standard removal proceedings if they are
found to be victims of human trafficking or fear returning to their home
country.
The
plaintiffs took action after media outlets reported on Aug. 29 that DHS was
planning “to imminently remove hundreds of Guatemalan unaccompanied minors to
Guatemala.”
The
complaint says federal law requires that unaccompanied minors be placed in the
custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, and they can only be removed
from the country in specific situations.
“[DHS
is] imminently planning to illegally transfer Plaintiffs to Immigration and
Customs Enforcement custody to put them on flights to Guatemala, where they may
face abuse, neglect, persecution, or even torture, against their best
interests,” it reads.
DHS has
identified more than 600 children from Guatemala whom it may deport as part of
“a first of its kind pilot program through an agreement negotiated with the
Guatemalan government,” the complaint says.
On Aug.
29, Guatemalan Foreign Minister Carlos Martinez said his government informed
U.S. authorities that it is willing to accept hundreds of Guatemalan minors who
came to the United States unaccompanied and are now being detained in U.S.
facilities. Martinez said his government is concerned that the minors could age
out of the facilities and then be transferred to adult detention facilities.
DHS
Secretary Kristi Noem visited Guatemala last week as part of a three-day
mission to Central America. On Aug. 27, Noem said Guatemala and Honduras signed
agreements that will permit those seeking asylum in the United States to apply
for refuge in those nations instead.
The
U.S. government has not given the plaintiffs notice of its plan to remove them,
nor has it provided an opportunity to challenge their removal. Instead, DHS has
“simply removed minors’ pending cases from the immigration court docket in
preparation for their summary removal,” the complaint says.
At a
midday hearing on Aug. 31, Sooknanan left her earlier temporary restraining
order in place.
The
government must “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,” she said in an order
time-stamped 12:37 p.m.
Federal
and state court rules govern whether a class action gets certified and is
allowed to proceed. Until a class is certified, the members are referred to as
putative members of the class.
The
putative class in this case includes all Guatemalan unaccompanied minors in the
custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement as of 1:02 a.m. on Aug. 31, which
is when the legal complaint was filed. The court’s protection does not extend
to those who are already “subject to an executable final order of removal,” the
judge said.
At
about 3 p.m. on Aug. 31, Sooknanan issued a separate order
requiring the DHS to advise the court at 4 p.m. if putative class members had
been taken off airplanes that were to be used for deportation.
“If all
class members have not been deplaned and moved back to the custody of [Office
of Refugee Resettlement] by that time, the Defendants should advise when they
expect that to occur,” she said.
Deputy
Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign filed a status report with the court
later the same day, saying that “all of the class members that were on planes
today have been deplaned and are in the process of being returned to [Office of
Refugee
Resettlement] custody.”
The
Epoch Times reached out to the Department of Justice for comment but received
no response by publication time.
Sparkle L. Sooknanan
Judge
of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparkle_L._Sooknanan
Sparkle Leah Sooknanan[2] (born 1983)[3] is
a Trinidadian and Tobagonian-born American
lawyer who serves as a United States district judge of
the United States
District Court for the District of Columbia.
Early
life and education
Sooknanan
was born in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago,
to parents of Indian descent.[4][5][1] Sooknanan
graduated from Naparima Girls' High School in 2000.[5]
Sooknanan
earned a Bachelor of Science, summa cum laude, from St. Francis College in 2002, a Master of Business Administration with
distinction from Hofstra University in 2003 and a Juris Doctor summa
cum laude, from Brooklyn Law School in 2010.
Connecting the Dots:
Judge Sparkle Leah Sooknanan is a United
States district judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of
Columbia and received her MBA at Hofstra University.
Judge Juan Merchan has been an Adjunct Faculty Member at the Hofstra
University School of Law since January 2000 and is the acting New York
Justice U.S. Supreme Court for Donald Trumps
Arraignment Tuesday April 4th, 2023.
Joseph M. Gregory
is a trustee at the Hofstra University and was a trustee at
the Harlem Children's Zone.
George Soros was a benefactor for the Harlem Children's Zone, the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, is a director emeritus for Refugees International and the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Harlem Children's Zone and the Refugees International.
Open Society Foundations was a
funder for the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation.
Peter S. Kalikow
was a funder for the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation,
a commissioner for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and
a trustee at the Hofstra University.
David S. Mack was
a commissioner for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
and is a trustee at the Hofstra University.
H. Carl McCall was a commissioner for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the comptroller for the New York state government.
Christopher J. Christie was the New Jersey state
government governor and is married to Mary Pat Christie.
Mary Pat
Christie is married to Christopher J. Christie and
the chair for the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund.
Hurricane
Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund is a relief organization for Hurricane
Sandy.
Robin Hood Foundation raised money for the Hurricane Sandy relief.
Emma Bloomberg was the chief of staff for the Robin Hood
Foundation and is Michael R. Bloomberg’s daughter.
Michael R.
Bloomberg is and Emma Bloomberg’s father, was New
York (NY) mayor, a donor for the Robin Hood Foundation and
a benefactor for the Harlem Children's Zone.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Robin
Hood Foundation and the Harlem Children's Zone.
George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to
Promote Open Society and a benefactor for
the Harlem Children's Zone.
Joseph M. Gregory was
a trustee at the Harlem Children's Zone and is a trustee at
the Hofstra University.
Judge Sparkle Leah Sooknanan
received her MBA at Hofstra
University and is a United States district judge of the U.S. District
Court for the District of Columbia.
Judge Juan Merchan has been an Adjunct Faculty Member
at the Hofstra University School of Law since January 2000 and
is the acting New York Justice U.S. Supreme Court for Donald Trumps
Arraignment Tuesday April 4th, 2023.
Peter S. Kalikow
was a trustee at the Hofstra University, a funder for the Bill,
Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation and a commissioner for the Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Richard H. Bagger
is a commissioner for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey,
a director at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the
World Trade Center, was a senator for the New Jersey Senate
and Christopher J. Christie’s chief of staff.
Christopher J. Christie is the New Jersey state government governor and Richard H. Bagger was his chief of staff.
Christine A. Ferer was a commissioner for the Port Authority
of New York and New Jersey and is a director at the National
September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center.
Scott Rechler is
the vice chairman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and
a director at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the
World Trade Center.
Virginia S. Bauer is
a commissioner for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and
a director at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the
World Trade Center.
Michael R. Bloomberg was the chairman for the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center, the New York (NY) mayor, a donor for the Robin Hood Foundation, a benefactor for the Harlem Children's Zone and is Emma Bloomberg’s father.
Emma Bloomberg was the chief of staff for the Robin Hood
Foundation and is Michael R. Bloomberg’s daughter.
Robin Hood
Foundation raised money for the Hurricane Sandy relief.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Robin
Hood Foundation and the Harlem Children's Zone.
George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote
Open Society and a benefactor for the Harlem Children's
Zone.
Joseph M. Gregory was
a trustee at the Harlem Children's Zone and is a trustee at
the Hofstra University.
Judge Sparkle Leah Sooknanan
received her MBA at Hofstra
University and is a United States district judge of the U.S. District
Court for the District of Columbia.
Peter S. Kalikow
was a trustee at the Hofstra University, a funder for the Bill,
Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation and a commissioner for the Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Richard H. Bagger
is a commissioner for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey,
a director at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the
World Trade Center, was a senator for the New Jersey Senate
and Christopher J. Christie’s chief of staff.
Christopher
J. Christie is the New Jersey state government governor,
married to Mary Pat Christie and Richard H. Bagger was his
chief of staff.
Mary Pat
Christie is married to Christopher J. Christie and the
chair for the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund.
Cam Henderson was Mary
Pat Christie’s chief of staff, is an executive director for the Hurricane
Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund and the finance director for the 2016
Chris Christie presidential campaign.
Hurricane
Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund is a relief organization for Hurricane
Sandy.
Robin Hood
Foundation raised money for the Hurricane Sandy relief.
David A. Tepper is a director at the Robin Hood Foundation and was a supporter for Christopher J. Christie’s 2012 presidential bid.
Emma Bloomberg was the chief of staff for the Robin Hood
Foundation and is Michael R. Bloomberg’s daughter.
Michael R.
Bloomberg is and Emma Bloomberg’s father, was New
York (NY) mayor, a donor for the Robin Hood Foundation and
a benefactor for the Harlem Children's Zone.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Robin
Hood Foundation and the Harlem Children's Zone.
George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote
Open Society and a benefactor for the Harlem Children's
Zone.
Joseph M. Gregory was
a trustee at the Harlem Children's Zone and is a trustee at
the Hofstra University.
Judge Sparkle Leah Sooknanan
received her MBA at Hofstra
University and is a United States district judge of the U.S. District
Court for the District of Columbia.
Judge Juan Merchan has been an Adjunct Faculty Member
at the Hofstra University School of Law since January 2000 and
is the acting New York Justice U.S. Supreme Court for Donald
Trumps Arraignment Tuesday April 4th, 2023.
Joseph M. Gregory
is a trustee at the Hofstra University and was a trustee at
the Harlem Children's Zone.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Harlem
Children's Zone.
George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote
Open Society, a benefactor for the Harlem Children's Zone
and is the founder of Soros Fund Management.
Stanley F.
Druckenmiller was a managing director at Soros Fund Management
and was a supporter for Christopher J. Christie’s 2012
presidential bid.
David H. Koch was a
supporter for Christopher J. Christie’s 2012 presidential bid
and is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).
Henry
A. Kissinger was a supporter for Christopher J. Christie’s 2012
presidential bid, a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think
tank) and a friend of Michael R. Bloomberg.
Bloomberg
Family Foundation was a funder for the Aspen Institute (think
tank).
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Aspen
Institute (think tank),
George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to
Promote Open Society,
Walter Isaacson is
a director at the Bloomberg Family Foundation, the president &
CEO for the Aspen Institute (think tank) and was the chairman &
CEO for CNN.
Emma Bloomberg is a
director at the Bloomberg Family Foundation, Michael R.
Bloomberg’s daughter and was a senior planning officer for the Robin
Hood Foundation.
Michael R.
Bloomberg is the founder of the Bloomberg Family Foundation, Emma
Bloomberg’s father, was a friend of Henry A. Kissinger, the New
York (NY) mayor, was a donor for the Robin Hood
Foundation and a benefactor for the Harlem Children's Zone.
Robin Hood
Foundation raised money for Hurricane Sandy relief.
Hurricane
Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund is a relief organization for Hurricane
Sandy.
Mary Pat
Christie is the chair for the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey
Relief Fund and married to Christopher J. Christie.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Robin
Hood Foundation and the Harlem Children's Zone.
George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote
Open Society and a benefactor for the Harlem Children's
Zone.
Joseph M. Gregory was
a trustee at the Harlem Children's Zone and is a trustee at
the Hofstra University.
Judge Sparkle Leah Sooknanan
received her MBA at Hofstra
University and is a United States district judge of the U.S. District
Court for the District of Columbia.
Judge Juan Merchan has been an Adjunct Faculty Member
at the Hofstra University School of Law since January 2000 and
is the acting New York Justice U.S. Supreme Court for Donald
Trumps Arraignment Tuesday April 4th, 2023.
Joseph M. Gregory
is a trustee at the Hofstra University and was a trustee at
the Harlem Children's Zone.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Harlem
Children's Zone.
George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to
Promote Open Society, a benefactor for the Harlem Children's
Zone and is the founder of Soros Fund Management.
Stanley F.
Druckenmiller was a managing director at Soros Fund Management
and was a supporter for Christopher J. Christie’s 2012
presidential bid.
Resources:
Past Research
Trump
Scheduled to Be Arraigned Tuesday at 2:15 PM ET (Connecting the Dots: Alvin
Bragg, Justice Juan Merchan, Michael Cohen, CNN & Soros Funding, All
Networking) (Past Research on Justice Juan Merchan
& Hofstra University)
Friday,
March 31, 2023
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2023/03/trump-scheduled-to-be-arraigned-tuesday.html
Working
Together to Help Refugees (Where does that money go?) (Past
Research on Refugees International)
Thursday,
August 31, 2017
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2017/08/working-together-to-help-refugees-where.html
New
Jersey Warns Residents of Nuclear Emergency (Connecting the Nuclear Dots!) (Past Research on the Port Authority of New York and New
Jersey)
Monday,
October 24, 2022
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2022/10/new-jersey-warns-residents-of-nuclear.html
New
Jersey Warns Residents of Nuclear Emergency (Connecting the Nuclear Dots!) (Past Research on the Port Authority of New York and New
Jersey & the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade
Center)
Monday,
October 24, 2022
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2022/10/new-jersey-warns-residents-of-nuclear.html
NJ
Paper Accuses Christie of 'Censorship' of Sandy Fund Records (Past Research on Christopher J. Christie)
Sunday,
December 8, 2013
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2013/12/nj-paper-accuses-christie-of-censorship.html
Jeb
Bush: Michael Bloomberg A ‘Good Man’ And A ’Patriot’ (Past
Research on the Bloomberg Family Foundation)
Sunday,
January 24, 2016
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2016/01/jeb-bush-michael-bloomberg-good-man-and.html
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