A U.S. Lawsuit Stops the Deportation of Honduran Children After Reports of a Secret Plan

An American human rights group has filed a lawsuit to prevent any potential attempt by the U.S. government to deport 12 children from Honduras, after receiving information about a secret plan to deport them.

The "Florence" Project for Migrant and Refugee Rights, based in Arizona, stated that it added the Honduran children to the lawsuit filed last weekend, which resulted in a temporary court order to stop the deportation of dozens of migrant children to Guatemala.

The organization said in a statement that the U.S. government may soon begin implementing a plan to deport children who are being held illegally, in direct violation of their right to seek protection in the United States, despite an ongoing lawsuit that has halted previous attempts to deport Guatemalan children.

The "Florence" Project did not provide additional details about the information it received regarding the potential deportation of the children, and the amendment to the lawsuit has been placed under seal in federal court.

For its part, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment sent on Friday and Saturday, while the Department of Justice provided its account of the events related to Labor Day, which saw an attempt to deport 76 Guatemalan children, coinciding with its request to lift the temporary freeze imposed on their deportation.