In a major expansion of immigration enforcement, the Trump administration has directed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to locate and track unaccompanied migrant children who entered the U.S. illegally. According to an internal memo reviewed by Reuters, this initiative marks a significant shift in deportation efforts, sparking concerns among immigrant advocates.
ICE’s New Plan: Targeting Migrant Children
The memo, titled Unaccompanied Alien Children Joint Initiative Field Implementation, lays out a phased approach that began with planning on January 27. ICE has identified over 600,000 children who have crossed the border without parents since 2019, with more than 31,000 already ordered deported after missing court hearings.
Under this directive, ICE will categorize children into three priority groups—”flight risk,” “public safety,” and “border security.” Agents are instructed to focus on those considered flight risks, including children with deportation orders and those released to non-relative sponsors. These individuals will either receive new court notices or face enforcement of existing deportation orders.
Concerns Over Family Separation and Trafficking
While the Department of Homeland Security and ICE have not publicly commented on the directive, the memo states that the initiative aims to prevent human trafficking and exploitation.
This move has reignited concerns over Trump’s previous immigration policies. His first-term “zero tolerance” policy led to widespread family separations at the border, prompting international backlash. Though the policy was officially halted in 2018, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) reports that up to 1,000 children remain separated from their parents.
Meanwhile, Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, has raised alarms over the Biden administration’s handling of unaccompanied minors, claiming that 300,000 children have gone missing under current policies—raising fears of trafficking. The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which manages migrant children, is not required to track them after release.
Tighter Controls and Expanded ICE Authority
Since returning to office, Trump has tightened vetting processes for migrant sponsors, requiring fingerprints for background checks and expanding ICE’s access to ORR’s database. ORR head Mellissa Harper has also informed staff that DNA testing may be introduced to verify familial relationships in suspected fraud cases.
ICE field offices will have the discretion to determine how to locate and process targeted children. Given that many of these minors live in undocumented households, their addresses could also lead to the arrest of additional migrants.
What’s Next?
This policy shift is expected to face legal and humanitarian challenges, with immigrant rights groups likely to push back against the enforcement measures. As ICE ramps up efforts, the fate of thousands of migrant children in the U.S. hangs in the balance.
