Order of US appeals judge prohibiting deportation of migrant children

The United States on Wednesday appealed a judge’s order prohibiting deportations of migrant children who have crossed the border alone, The Associated Press reports.

The Department of Justice has filed a notice of appeal with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the outlet said. He also asked the court to stay the order pending appeal.

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan issued a preliminary junction earlier this month in a class action lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security. The injunction was sought by legal groups suing on behalf of children the federal government attempted to deport before they could seek asylum or other protections.

The ordinance only applied to the deportation of children crossing the border without parents.

In its Wednesday filing, the Justice Department cited the spread of the coronavirus in communities in Texas and Arizona along the border, the AP reports. He said the order “is likely to have an irreversible impact on public health” by straining the capacity of hospitals and forcing the government to move “potentially infected” children from airports.

The Trump administration issued an emergency declaration in March allowing the federal government to return migrants to Mexico or their countries of origin within hours of their detention and without giving the opportunity to seek asylum.

The administration said the policy was aimed at protecting border officials and people detained by immigration from contracting the virus. Opponents accused the administration of using the pandemic to illegally restrict immigration.

The AP reported in October that Vice President Pence allegedly ordered the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to use its emergency powers to close the borders, although top scientists have said there is no evidence that this will reduce the spread of COVID-19.

At least 8,800 unaccompanied children have been deported since March, according to the AP. Nearly 200,000 people, including parents and children traveling together, have been deported since March.