CBP Policy Pressuring Unaccompanied Children to Self-Deport

CBP Policy Pressuring Unaccompanied Children to Self-Deport

Legal advocates are seeking to halt a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) policy that pressures unaccompanied immigrant children to voluntarily deport themselves. The policy, introduced last year, allows border agents to present the self-deportation option to children before they enter a federal shelter. This practice started in September 2025.

If children refuse, they face prolonged detention, arrest of their sponsors, and barriers to future visa applications. Legal teams, including those representing Guatemalan children deported in August, argue the policy violates an existing injunction.

The attorneys are also asking the judge to expand the injunction to cover children from other countries, excluding Mexico and Canada. Some minors reported coercion, with one girl signing papers after being denied medical treatment following a car crash.

Kate Talmor of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection said these minors are not afforded the opportunities granted to them under federal law. '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 said Tuesday.