Report: Unaccompanied migrant children lost in immigration shuffle

More than 290K migrant kids lost in immigration shuffle: Report

ICE hasn't issued court orders to more than 290,000 migrant children
The agency hasn't properly monitored youth who enter US with no adults
The issue puts migrant children at greater risk for trafficking, exploitation

Updated: Aug 21, 2024 / 02:02 PM EDT

Migrant women carry children in the rain at an intake area after turning themselves in upon crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, late Tuesday, May 11, 2021, in La Joya, Texas. The U.S. government continues to report large numbers of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border with an increase in adult crossers. But families and unaccompanied children are still arriving in dramatic numbers despite the weather changing in the Rio Grande Valley registering hotter days and nights. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

(NewsNation) — Hundreds of thousands of migrant children who entered the United States without an adult don’t have immigration court dates and their whereabouts may be unknown, according to a new report.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) hasn’t kept track of all the unaccompanied migrant children under its watch, putting the minors at greater risk for trafficking and exploitation. The issue is delaying or preventing the deportation process in some cases, according to a report from the DHS Inspector General.

An ongoing audit showed that ICE transferred more than 448,000 unaccompanied minors to HHS between 2019 and 2023. ICE, however, couldn’t account for the whereabouts of all the children who were released by HHS and weren’t scheduled for immigration court.

More than 32,000 unaccompanied minors failed to appear for their immigration court hearings between 2019 and 2023. ICE also didn’t serve notices to appear in court to each child after they were released from HHS custody when removal proceedings were appropriate. As of May 2024, ICE hadn’t served such notices to more than 291,000 unaccompanied migrant children, according to the report.

NEW: Scathing @DHSgov OIG report shows that ICE cannot always monitor what happens to unaccompanied minors after they are released from DHS/HHS custody and they’re missing court dates or don’t even have them—The report found that between 2019 and 2023, over 32K kids missed their… pic.twitter.com/Zkz5x5MRMR
— Ali Bradley (@AliBradleyTV) August 20, 2024

ICE Enforcement and Removal officers (EROs) at just one of eight field offices said they attempted to locate the minors, according to the report. Additionally, ICE ERO doesn’t have a formal policy or process to follow up with minors who didn’t appear in court and limited oversight is provided to those responsibilities.

“ICE must take immediate action to ensure the safety of UCs residing in the United States,” Inspector General Joseph Cuffari wrote. “Based on our audit work and according to ICE officials, (unaccompanied children) who do not appear for court are considered at higher risk for trafficking, exploitation, or forced labor.”