Many parents of Guatemalan minors nearly deported from US did not want children returned: Memo

Many parents of the dozens of Guatemalan minors who were set to be deported over the weekend by the Trump administration before a last-minute halt said they did not request their children’s return to their home country, according to a memo from the government of Guatemala.

One parent told officials that if her daughter was returned, she "would do everything possible to get her out of the country again because she had received death threats and could not live in Guatemala," according to the memo.

The memo was referenced by Sen. Ron Wyden during Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s testimony before a Senate committee on Thursday and entered into the record. HHS manages the Office of Refugee Resettlement, the agency tasked with providing services to unaccompanied migrant children.

The removal of the unaccompanied minors was temporarily blocked on Sunday by a federal judge -- a move that came as the children were sitting on planes.

At a hearing over the weekend, a Department of Justice attorney argued that the Trump administration was removing the children in accordance with the law and at the request of the Guatemalan government and the legal guardians of the children.

Attorneys representing the children moved to file a preliminary injunction on Wednesday, arguing that the minors remain at risk of being sent to Guatemala without a final order from an immigration judge.

The memo reveals some of the information the Guatemalan government received from the Trump administration and some of the steps government officials there took before the minors were nearly removed from the U.S.

According to the memo which is in Spanish, Guatemalan officials began to discuss the "Voluntary Return Program for Minors" on July 9, which reportedly focused on Guatemalan teenagers in the U.S., who were nearing adulthood and "might be moved to adult shelters and subsequently deported."

According to the memo, Guatemalan officials were informed by the Office of Refugee Resettlement on July 11 that there were 609 teens, ages 14 to 17, who were set to be returned to Guatemala.

After officials began to identify and locate families, many were allegedly "surprised and even upset" because they believed their children were in a process to legalize their immigration status in the U.S. The families were not expecting their children to return to Guatemala, according to the memo.

After conducting home visits, the government of Guatemala found that 50 families were willing to receive their children if they were returned. However, none were requesting their children's return and “they expressed a desire for their children to be able to stay in the U.S.

The memo stated: "One report noted that the parents of a returned daughter would do everything possible to get her out of the country again because she had received death threats and could not live in Guatemala."

According to the memo, 59 families refused to cooperate with the government home visits.

On Aug. 31, the day the children were set to arrive in Guatemala, seven families arrived at Guatemalan Air Force facilities to receive the minors, according to the memo.