Laura Peña knew she had two hours to stop the children she represents from being deported home to Guatemala. She and other lawyers and advocates around the country were just starting to get word that Saturday night of Labor Day weekend that migrant children had just been woken up and were heading to the airport.
Hours of confusion ensued, including a frantic phone call to a judge at 2:36 a.m. It was remarkably similar to a chaotic March weekend when the Trump administration deported hundreds of Venezuelans to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador despite frantic attempts by attorneys and an intervention by a judge who came to court on a Saturday night in civilian dress.
