A Guatemalan family previously separated at the U.S.-Mexico border returned to the United States in May 2026 under a federal court order. Mirsy Maricela Alva López and her two children were granted entry via parole documents after a federal judge ruled in February that their prior removal was unlawful. The family had been living in Florida until Alva López was deported in June 2023, leading her children to join her in Guatemala.
The case is part of the ongoing Ms. L v. ICE class action lawsuit, which challenged the 2018 policy of separating migrant parents and children at the border. While a landmark settlement in that case provided pathways for temporary legal status for affected families, enforcement actions during the second Trump administration have resulted in new detentions and removals. According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), at least 60 individuals protected under the settlement have been detained and 16 have been deported since the start of the current term.
Former Department of Health and Human Services official Jonathan White stated that the 2018 separation policy was discussed at leadership levels as a method to deter migration. Advocates from the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, including Kelly Albinak Kribs, argued that the policy caused lasting psychological harm to children. The government has previously stated that such enforcement measures were intended to maintain border security and deter illegal crossings.