debut: 2/16/17
40,924 runs
T&T-born judge halts Trump’s midnight deportation of children
A T&T-born US judge has blocked Donald Trump’s deportation order on unaccompanied children.District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan made global headlines on Sunday with the decision. Born in San Fernando, Sooknanan went to Naparima Girls’ High School. She received her B.S., summa cum laude, from St. Francis College in 2002, her M.B.A., with distinction, from Hofstra University in 2003, and her J.D., summa cum laude, from Brooklyn Law School in 2010.
Sooknanan was appointed to the District Court in January.
With migrant children waiting on tarmacs to be sent to their native Guatemala, Sooknanan temporarily blocked the flights, siding with attorneys for the children who said the government was breaking laws and sending their clients to potential peril.
The extraordinary drama played out overnight on a holiday weekend and vaulted from tarmacs in Texas to a courtroom in Washington. It was the latest showdown over the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration — and the latest clash between the administration’s enforcement efforts and legal safeguards that Congress created for vulnerable migrants.Guatemalan children who arrived at the border without their parents or guardians will stay for at least two weeks while the legal fight unfolds, according to the ruling.
“I do not want there to be any ambiguity,” said Sooknanan.
A T&T-born US judge has blocked Donald Trump’s deportation order on unaccompanied children.District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan made global headlines on Sunday with the decision. Born in San Fernando, Sooknanan went to Naparima Girls’ High School. She received her B.S., summa cum laude, from St. Francis College in 2002, her M.B.A., with distinction, from Hofstra University in 2003, and her J.D., summa cum laude, from Brooklyn Law School in 2010.
Sooknanan was appointed to the District Court in January.
With migrant children waiting on tarmacs to be sent to their native Guatemala, Sooknanan temporarily blocked the flights, siding with attorneys for the children who said the government was breaking laws and sending their clients to potential peril.
The extraordinary drama played out overnight on a holiday weekend and vaulted from tarmacs in Texas to a courtroom in Washington. It was the latest showdown over the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration — and the latest clash between the administration’s enforcement efforts and legal safeguards that Congress created for vulnerable migrants.Guatemalan children who arrived at the border without their parents or guardians will stay for at least two weeks while the legal fight unfolds, according to the ruling.
“I do not want there to be any ambiguity,” said Sooknanan.
