The Trump administration has been coordinating with the Guatemalan government to send hundreds of minors who crossed the southern border without an adult back to their home country, according to two people familiar with the administration’s efforts and Guatemala’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The children are currently in shelters awaiting release into the United States, and their repatriation without an opportunity to make a case to remain in the country would be a first, according to legal experts.
“Summarily deporting children without due process will in many cases put them in harm’s way,’’ said Michelle Brané, executive director of Together and Free, an advocacy organization that focuses on migrant children and families.
The Trafficking Victims Protection Act specifically bars expedited removal of unaccompanied children, said the lawyer, who called the move “unprecedented.”
Guatemala’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Ramíro Martínez, said a plan to repatriate minors, many of them adolescents, was outlined during a visit to the country by the Homeland Security secretary, Kristi Noem, in July.
“It’s a number greater than 600 minors, and we are figuring out how they should return to Guatemala,” said Mr. Martínez. He added that Guatemalan officials “would prefer it to be done in a gradual and planned manner.”
Hundreds of thousands of children, mainly from Central America, have crossed the southern border into the United States alone in the last decade, many seeking to join friends or family members. Many of these children have won the right to remain in the United States permanently by proving that they were abandoned or persecuted in their home countries and left fleeing violence and poverty.
The number of unaccompanied children arriving in the United States has plunged since Mr. Trump took office. There are currently 2,000 in shelters, which collectively have the capacity to hold about 15,000.
But the minors have proved to be a vexing problem for the Trump administration as it seeks to crack down on illegal immigration, because children are granted certain legal protections.
The administration has taken steps that it has said are designed to ensure that the children are safe and are not victims of trafficking or exploitation — and some who arrive are. But advocates for the children say these efforts, which include dispatching agents who specialize in gang investigations to check on them, are intended to stir fear and accelerate deportations.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement, which oversees the children’s care in shelters, did not immediately comment on the plans. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In Guatemala, the foreign minister said that the dates for the first group to arrive had not been set. “We are looking to manage timelines in order to plan properly and first receive a manageable number of minors that we can handle logistically,” he said.
Advocates expressed concern that Guatemala was just the first of several countries that the Trump administration would persuade to accept the repatriation of children as a way to deter migration and satisfy President Trump’s immigration agenda.
“This is yet another intentional and strategic move by the administration to intentionally harm the most vulnerable, in order to deter children who need protection from coming to the U.S.,” Ms. Brané said.
Miriam Jordan reports from a grass roots perspective on immigrants and their impact on the demographics, society and economy of the United States.
Jazmine Ulloa is a national reporter covering immigration for The Times.
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