As a U.S. federal judge blocked the deportation of unaccompanied Guatemalan children, the government of Guatemala says in a statement it suggested the U.S. return its children to their home country.
After planes with Guatemalan children were loaded in the U.S., then prevented from taking off by a federal judge’s decision to temporarily halt the children’s removal, the Guatemalan government said on Aug. 31 that it was responsible for recently proposing to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that the unaccompanied Guatemalan minors be returned to their home country.
In a statement published to the social media platform X on the evening of Aug. 31, the same day as the judge’s decision, the Guatemalan government indicated it wanted to prevent the children from staying in shelters and detention centers and that it supports coordinated action to reunify Guatemalan children with their families.
The Guatemalan government has plans to identify the needs of each of the Guatemalan children and intends to include them in social programs in their home country, the government stated. All actions that have been taken in regards to the unaccompanied minors have taken the children’s human rights into account and have complied with due process, the government alleged.
