Tigo
Nestle
Barceló Solymar
MAD-HAV Enjoy Travel Group
Los Portales
Instituto Hondureño de Turismo
Grupo Hotelero Islazul
Irtra
Walmart
Herbalife
CUN-HAV Enjoy Travel Group
Intecap
blackanddecker
INOR
AVA Resorts
Agexport
Cubasol
Centro Nacional de Cirugía de Mínimo Acceso de Cuba
Realidad Turística
Cervecería Centroamericana S.A.
Servicios Médicos Cubanos

US Said to Seek Removal of Almost 700 Guatemalan Immigrant Children

Date:

Share:

AVA Resorts
Irtra
Servicios Médicos Cubanos
Centro Nacional de Cirugía de Mínimo Acceso de Cuba
Herbalife
Los Portales
Intecap
Cervecería Centroamericana S.A.
Grupo Hotelero Islazul
Instituto Hondureño de Turismo
blackanddecker
Realidad Turística
Nestle
INOR

The Trump administration is planning to remove nearly 700 Guatemalan children who had come to the U.S. without their parents, according to a letter sent Friday by Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, and the Central American country said it was ready to take them in.

The removals would violate the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s “child welfare mandate and this country’s long-established obligation to these children,” Wyden told Angie Salazar, acting director of the office within the Department of Health and Human Services that is responsible for migrant children who arrive in the U.S. alone.

“This move threatens to separate children from their families, lawyers, and support systems, to thrust them back into the very conditions they are seeking refuge from, and to disappear vulnerable children beyond the reach of American law and oversight,” the Democratic senator wrote, asking for the deportation plans to be terminated.

It is another step in the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration enforcement efforts, which include plans to surge officers to Chicago for an immigration crackdown, ramping up deportations and ending protections for people who have had permission to live and work in the United States.

Guatemalan Foreign Affairs Minister Carlos Martínez said Friday that the government has told the U.S. it is willing to receive hundreds of Guatemalan minors who arrived unaccompanied to the United States and are being held in U.S. facilities.

Guatemala is particularly concerned about minors who could age out of the facilities for children and be sent to adult detention centers, he said. The exact number of children to be returned remains in flux, but they are currently discussing a little over 600. He said no date has been set yet for their return.

That would be almost double what Guatemala previously agreed to. The head of the country’s immigration service said last month that the government was looking to repatriate 341 unaccompanied minors who were being held in U.S. facilities.

“The idea is to bring them back before they reach 18 years old so that they are not taken to an adult detention center,” Guatemala Immigration Institute Director Danilo Rivera said at the time. He said it would be done at Guatemala’s expense and would be a form of voluntary return.

The plan was announced by President Bernardo Arévalo, who said then that the government had a moral and legal obligation to advocate for the children. His comments came days after U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited Guatemala.

The White House and the Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to requests for comments on the latest move, which was first reported by CNN.

Quoting unidentified whistleblowers, Wyden’s letter said children who do not have a parent or legal guardian as a sponsor or who don’t have an asylum case already underway “will be forcibly removed from the country.”

“Unaccompanied children are some of the most vulnerable children entrusted to the government’s care,” Wyden wrote. “In many cases, these children and their families have had to make the unthinkable choice to face danger and separation in search of safety.”

The idea of repatriating such a large number of children to their home country also raised concerns with activists who work with children navigating the immigration process.

“We are outraged by the Trump administration’s renewed assault on the rights of immigrant children,” said Lindsay Toczylowski, president and CEO of Immigrant Defenders Law Center. “We are not fooled by their attempt to mask these efforts as mere ‘repatriations.’ This is yet another calculated attempt to serve what little due process remains in the immigration system.”

Due to their age and the trauma unaccompanied immigrant children have often experienced getting to the U.S., their treatment is one of the most sensitive issues in immigration. Advocacy groups already have sued to ask courts to halt new Trump administration vetting procedures for unaccompanied children, saying the changes are keeping families separated longer and are inhumane.

Migrant children traveling without their parents or guardians are handed over to the Office of Refugee Resettlement when they are encountered by officials along the U.S.-Mexico border. Once in the U.S., they often live in government-supervised shelters or with foster care families until they can be released to a sponsor — usually a family member — living in the country.

They can request asylum, juvenile immigration status or visas for victims of sexual exploitation. (https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2025/aug/31/us-said-to-seek-removal-of-almost-700-guatemalan/)

Information for this article was contributed by Sonia Pérez D. and Tim Sullivan of The Associated Press.

Centro Nacional de Cirugía de Mínimo Acceso de Cuba
Irtra
Instituto Hondureño de Turismo
blackanddecker
CUN-HAV Enjoy Travel Group
INOR
Herbalife
Agexport
Servicios Médicos Cubanos
Cubasol
Cervecería Centroamericana S.A.
Grupo Hotelero Islazul
Barceló Solymar
Nestle
Realidad Turística
MAD-HAV Enjoy Travel Group
Walmart
Tigo
Intecap
Los Portales
AVA Resorts
Tigo
Maggi - GLUTEN-FREE
Revista Colombiana de Turismo Passport
Hotel Barcelo Solymar
Havanatur
Cubacel
Intecap
Barcelo Guatemala City
Hotel Holiday Inn Guatemala
Irtra
Vuelos a Cuba
AirEuropa

Subscribe to our magazine

━ more like this

Pole Dancing in Israel: A New Dimension with BlueDance.co.il

In recent years, pole dancing has experienced a remarkable transformation, shifting from a misunderstood niche to a popular activity combining fitness, self-expression, and empowerment....

This North East African Country Welcomes Over 15.7 Million Tourists Last Year and An Addition 40,000 New Hotel Rooms are in Pipeline

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes In a year marked by global uncertainties and regional geopolitical challenges, Egypt’s tourism sector achieved an impressive milestone, welcoming a...

A New Luxury Hotel Just Opened on An Idyllic Beach in Cancun, Mexico — And We Were the First to Stay

Waldorf Astoria Cancun opened to the public on Nov. 1, the brand's first new build in Mexico, with two waterfront pools and a fantastic...

Pan American Health Organization Launches Interactive Dashboard on Avian Influenza in The Americas

To monitor cases of avian influenza A (H5N1) in the Americas, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) launched an interactive dashboard on the web...

Nicaragua Presents Its New Interoceanic Canal Route to China and Seeks to Compete with Panama

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes With a length of 445 kilometers, in a second attempt, the Nicaraguan president, Daniel Ortega, presents China with a new...
Hotel Holiday Inn Guatemala
Maggi - GLUTEN-FREE
AirEuropa
Cubacel
Revista Colombiana de Turismo Passport
Hotel Barcelo Solymar
Havanatur
Barcelo Guatemala City
Intecap
Vuelos a Cuba
Irtra

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

blackanddecker
Walmart
AVA Resorts
Instituto Hondureño de Turismo
Centro Nacional de Cirugía de Mínimo Acceso de Cuba
Intecap
INOR
Herbalife
MAD-HAV Enjoy Travel Group
Irtra
Realidad Turística
Grupo Hotelero Islazul
Servicios Médicos Cubanos
Nestle
Tigo
Cubasol
Barceló Solymar
Cervecería Centroamericana S.A.
Agexport
Los Portales