Child Migration and Asylum

Legal advocates representing Guatemalan minors have filed a motion asking a federal judge to halt a U.S. Customs and Border Protection policy that encourages unaccompanied immigrant children to "voluntarily" return to their home countries before they are transferred to federal shelters. The motion, filed Tuesday and stemming from a botched overnight deportation flight in August 2025, argues that the self‑deportation option—introduced by CBP in September 2025—violates the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act and an existing injunction that bars deporting Guatemalan unaccompanied minors without immigration‑court proceedings. According to sworn declarations, some children report being threatened with prolonged detention, prosecution of their U.S. sponsors, and future visa bans if they refuse, and describe being yelled at or pressed to sign documents they did not understand, sometimes while injured or without access to medical care, lawyers, or family. A CBP official says agents present the return option orally and only to some children, while advocates say they have documented 13 such cases in South Texas and believe the practice is far more widespread. The motion also asks the court to expand the injunction’s protections to unaccompanied children from countries other than Mexico and Canada, potentially reshaping how CBP can interact with minors at the border nationwide.