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A federal judge in Washington, D.C., temporarily blocked a new measure from President Donald Trump's administration that sought to keep migrant minors detained once they turned 18, which would have led to their automatic transfer to adult detention centers.
The court decision represents a significant setback to one of the most controversial policies promoted by Trump upon his return to the White House, focused on tightening the treatment of minors crossing the border without an adult.
Immediate restraining order
Federal Judge Rudolph Contreras issued a temporary restraining order on Saturday, preventing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from proceeding with these automatic transfers.
The measure was scheduled to begin the very same weekend, according to warnings from immigrant rights advocates.
The decision is based on a previous order, also issued by Contreras in 2021, which prohibits the systematic detention of young migrants in adult facilities after reaching the age of majority.
According to that regulation, young people must be placed in the “least restrictive environment available,” as long as they do not pose a danger to themselves, to others, nor is there a risk of escape.
“All of these are parts of the same general policy to coerce young immigrants into giving up their right to seek protection in the United States,” stated Michelle Lapointe, an attorney for the American Immigration Council, one of the plaintiff groups that requested an emergency judicial intervention.
Children detained, releases blocked
Unaccompanied minors are initially managed by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which is not part of ICE.
According to reports from defense attorneys, in recent days, the shelters began receiving communications from ICE indicating that minors approaching 18 years old—even those with previously approved releases—would no longer be released but instead transferred to adult detention facilities.
ICE responded that the now-adult individuals could only be released on a case-by-case basis under its parole authority, and only for “urgent humanitarian reasons” or if there was a “significant public benefit.”
However, between March and September, the agency granted this parole to fewer than 500 individuals.
The plaintiffs argue that “parole is practically a dead letter,” and warned that young people subjected to unnecessary and inappropriate detention would suffer lasting psychological harm, especially in overcrowded prisons or in remote areas.
Many of the affected minors have been victims of trafficking, abuse, neglect, or abandonment in their countries of origin.
The judicial decision aims to protect this particularly vulnerable population from a system that, according to its advocates, prioritizes deterrence over the protection of fundamental rights.
Judicial rejection of broader policy
The case is part of a series of measures adopted by the Trump administration to restrict the entry and stay of unaccompanied minors in the country.
Last week, another federal judge blocked an attempt by the government to immediately deport Guatemalan migrant children. According to AP, some had already been boarded onto planes during a nighttime operation before the courts intervened.
Meanwhile, the government has offered $2,500 to undocumented migrants aged 14 and older as an incentive to voluntarily return to their countries of origin, which has sparked new criticism from human rights organizations.
Since October 2021, U.S. border authorities have apprehended children who entered the country unaccompanied on over 400,000 occasions.
The length of stay in shelters has also increased significantly since Trump regained power.
In July, the average duration was 171 days, well above the 37 days recorded in January, when his second term began. In April, there was even a peak of 217 days, according to the mentioned press agency.
This increase is due to the tightening of controls before allowing the release of minors to relatives. The measures include fingerprinting, DNA testing, home visits, and arrests of parents by immigration agents.
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