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*** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ***
Statement on the Deportation of Guatemalan Children
September 8, 2025
We are deeply concerned to learn that the United States government is attempting to deport some 609 Guatemalan children, at least 90% of whom are Maya, without due process or respect for their rights under U.S. and international law. Efforts to secretly deport these children are shocking, legally perilous, and place marginalized and vulnerable children at risk for exceptional harm.
These migrant children, who arrived in the United States unaccompanied, are in the legal care and custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, and have specific rights in the United States, including due process rights, under laws enacted by Congress. The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution all provide basic protections and due process rights that explicitly apply to these specific children in this exact situation.
These children also have specific legal rights under international law. Guatemala is a majority-Indigenous country, and we understand that many of these children are Maya. As Indigenous children, these minors have additional, specific rights under international law, rights which are acknowledged by the United States. Some of these rights are stated in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, others are established in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and they are generally affirmed and clarified in the more recent American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Together, these instruments clearly provide that wherever they may be, Indigenous people—including and especially children—have a right to live lives free from discrimination, the right to liberty and security of person, the right to safety, and the right to due process, including the right to a translator. These rights are all firmly established in international law and, for Indigenous children, are plainly stated in UN Declaration Articles 2, 7, 13, and 22.
Historically, Indigenous migration out of Guatemala has been driven by war, poverty, and systematic human rights abuses. Indigenous peoples, including children, have faced extreme violence, including genocide, land theft, and exclusion from the economic and political life of their state. The disregard of Indigenous land rights creates poverty. Unequal access to education, health care, or justice leaves many Indigenous families without any path to economic or personal security within their own territories. This pattern has persisted in Guatemala for centuries, and continues today. This is why Indigenous children leave their families and flee from Guatemala. This historical context, as well as the specific facts of each child’s family history, should be carefully considered by the courts in evaluating their asylum claims and in determining their status under U.S. immigration law. Our courts and legal system are well-equipped to do just this kind of case-by-case evaluation and have the legal obligation to do so.
Unlawfully deporting these vulnerable children will put them in even greater danger. Some have fled abuse or trafficking. Others may have no family to return to, or will return to situations of extreme poverty, homelessness, and exploitation. For Maya youth, their Indigenous identity itself is a risk factor in Guatemala. Forcing them to return means forcing them to face the state-sanctioned conditions of human rights abuses that lead them to flee in the first place. There is no moral justification or legal basis for the reckless removal of these children outside of the normal process.
Every day, people from around the world immigrate to and seek asylum in the United States and other countries. These are ordinary events. Congress has regulated them with detailed legislation. Countries, including the United States, have regulated them through international law. Governments have an obligation to abide by their own laws and moral principles--the rule of law, due process, and equality before the law. These are principles that protect all children–including Indigenous children–and we call on our courts and our leaders to affirm our shared values.
Founded in 1978, the Indian Law Resource Center provides assistance to Indian nations and Indigenous peoples in the United States and throughout the Americas to combat racism and oppression, to protect their lands and environment, to protect their cultures and ways of life, to achieve sustainable economic development and genuine self-government, and to realize their other human rights. We have worked with Indigenous peoples in Guatemala for many years, including through our work successfully advancing the land rights of the Agua Caliente Community in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
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For more information, contact:
Jenny Eck, [email protected], +1 406 461 1754