Parents and guardians gathered at the airport in Guatemala City, preparing for what they hoped would be the return of children who were removed from the country and illegally taken to the United States. In Harlingen, Texas, the 76 children waited on the tarmac to board planes to take them home, but once again, a judge stepped in and blocked the flights, reports the AP.
Art Arthur is a resident fellow in law and policy at the Center for Immigration Studies. He says the problem is a 2008 law passed by Democrats, which mandates that Latin American refugee children who aren't from Mexico be resettled with sponsors in the U.S.
"What the Trump administration attempted to do was resettle these Guatemalan children with their families, their actual families back home in Guatemala. The contention is that, in so doing, it violated the terms of that 2008 Democrats' sponsored law," explains Arthur.
The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 has provision in place for unaccompanied alien children (UAC) to keep them from trafficking, gangs, cartels, among other dangers.
Unfortunately, Arthur says Congress has failed to change the law to facilitate removal of children in this situation.
"The Trump administration can take this on appeal. And note the time sensitivity of it, because reuniting those children with their families in Guatemala required a significant amount of diplomatic effort on the part of the State Department and Secretary Rubio,” states Arthur. “I think we can all agree as parents, it is in the best interest of children to be reunited with their loved ones, their families, as quickly as possible."
Arthur concludes by saying that, hopefully, the 5th Circuit will make that happen.
