MCALLEN, Texas (AP) — Civil rights attorneys filed a court motion Tuesday demanding an end to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection practice that encourages immigrant children traveling alone to agree to voluntary deportation before they receive required legal protections.
Under federal law established by the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, border officers who apprehend unaccompanied immigrant minors entering illegally must transfer them to federally-operated shelters managed by the Office of Refugee Resettlement. These facilities provide children with legal representation, access to immigration hearings, and phone contact with family members before they decide whether to pursue deportation or explore alternative options.
However, a new approach now presents the voluntary departure choice while children remain in border custody, before they reach the shelter system. This practice commenced in September 2025, based on CBP official testimony included in the legal filing.
According to the attorneys’ Tuesday motion, children who refuse voluntary return face threats of extended detention, potential arrest and prosecution of their U.S.-based adult sponsors, and permanent visa application bans.
The legal team represents Guatemalan minors affected by the government’s failed attempt to remove dozens of them during a chaotic overnight flight last August. They argue this policy breaches an existing court order that prevents deportation of any unaccompanied Guatemalan children without proper immigration court proceedings.
The lawyers also request the judge extend the protective order to include minors from additional nations, except Mexico and Canada.
CBP has not yet provided a response to requests for comment.
Multiple children reported to attorneys that agents used threatening behavior, shouting, and coercion to force them to sign documents they couldn’t comprehend, often due to language difficulties.
One young girl described how an agent aggressively pressured her to sign paperwork after she injured her leg in a vehicle accident and was refused medical care.
“I thought I had to sign, but I didn’t know why or what for,” she stated in a written court declaration.
Mishan Wroe, representing the National Center for Youth Law, emphasized that these minors are being denied federally mandated protections.
“It’s plainly coercive to threaten children with prolonged detention while they are scared and not given the opportunity to speak to counsel or their family before they make a decision that has grave implications for their future,” Wroe stated Tuesday.
Michael Julien, a CBP representative, wrote in his Tuesday court filing that agents only offer the voluntary departure option to certain unaccompanied minors crossing illegally, and that this choice is communicated verbally rather than through written documentation.
Legal advocates discovered 13 cases in South Texas where children experienced this new approach, though they suspect many more instances exist.
“We believe that this is happening to many, many more children and that the 13 that are mentioned in our motion are just those that kind of slipped through the cracks,” stated Kate Talmor, senior counsel at the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection.
Talmor explained that attorneys only learned about and could assist these 13 children because despite signing departure agreements while in CBP custody, transportation wasn’t arranged in time and they were eventually transferred to shelter facilities.
Federal officials have two weeks to submit their response, after which the judge will decide whether to halt the policy’s enforcement on Guatemalan children and potentially extend protections to minors from other nations.
