President Donald Trump’s administration has reportedly instructed immigration agents to locate and deport “hundreds of thousands” of migrant children currently in the United States.
An internal document from Immigration and Customs and Enforcement (ICE), headlined the “Unaccompanied Alien Children Joint Initiative Field Implementation,” said the initiative claims to prevent children from being human trafficked or other types of exploitation.
According to government data, more than 600,000 migrant children have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without a legal guardian or parent since 2019.
A source familiar with the initiative stated that its goal is to ensure migrant children are not victims of human trafficking or other forms of exploitation. The plan outlines four phases of implementation, which include serving minors with notices to appear in immigration court or deporting them if deportation orders are already pending against them.
ICE collected data on unaccompanied minors and sorted them into three groups: “flight risk,” “public safety” and “border security.” Agents were told to prioritize “flight risk” minors, including those who have received orders of deportation for missing court hearings, the source said of the internal document.
The Trump administration’s move follows claims by Republicans last year that the Biden administration “lost 300,000” migrant children—a figure that experts and advocates argue lacks proper context.
These claims stem from a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) internal watchdog report last year, which found that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had failed to serve notices to appear to more than 291,000 unaccompanied migrant children.
The internal watchdog also warned that over the past five years, more than 32,000 unaccompanied migrant children did not appear for their immigration court hearings, and ICE was “not able to account” for their current locations.
“The unique needs of children require the administration to ensure a level of care that takes into account their vulnerability while it determines whether they need long-term protection in the United States,” Wendy Young, the President of Kids in Need of Defense said in a statement to ABC News.
“To be successful in its goals, the government must partner with legal service providers and the vast network of private sector pro bono partners who provide millions of dollars in free legal services to ensure children understand the process and can share their reasons for seeking safety in the United States. Then the government can decide with confidence who needs protection and who can safely return to their country of origin,” Young added.
