Trinidad-Born Judge Overrules Trump’s Deportation Order

Trinidad-born U.S. Federal Judge, Sparkle L. Sooknanan, has made major headlines by overruling a deportation order from U.S. President Donald Trump. On August 31, Judge Sooknanan, serving in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, issued a temporary restraining order. This order effectively blocked the Trump administration from deporting ten Guatemalan children, all unaccompanied and aged between 10 to 17 years, and potentially hundreds more currently in federal custody. This order will stay in effect for two weeks following an emergency request from the National Immigration Law Center. The law states that unaccompanied minors arriving in the U.S. are to be placed in shelters run by the Office of Refugee Resettlement until they can be relocated with family or foster care. However, the Trump administration was keen on expediting these deportations, a move that Sooknanan has successfully halted. Sooknanan, who previously clerked for prominent figures in U.S. law and held senior positions within the government, is a shining example of Trinidad’s global influence in shaping U.S. law.