ICE Lost Track of Undocumented Children, Must Take “Immediate Action”: Report
Fresh questions about the ability of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to keep track of unaccompanied migrant children (UCs) who cross the border into the United States.
According to a management alert from the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG), ICE cannot account for some 32,000 children who failed to appear at court hearings. Another 291,000 did not receive notices yet to appear in court and may also be unaccounted for.
The alert says that “ICE must take immediate action to ensure the safety of UCs residing in the United States” as unaccompanied minors are at increased risk of trafficking, exploitation, and forced labor.
The report found that over the past five years, ICE cannot account for some 32,000 unaccompanied migrant children (UCs) after they crossed the border and were transferred into Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), where they are supposed to be placed in shelters or with sponsors.
"We learned ICE transferred more than 448,000 UCs to HHS from fiscal years 2019 to 2023," stated the report. "However, ICE was not able to account for the location of all UCs who were released by HHS and did not appear as scheduled in immigration court. ICE reported more than 32,000 UCs failed to appear for their immigration court hearings from FYs 2019 to 2023."
The court hearings are key as they are often “ICE’s only opportunity to observe and screen [these minors] for trafficking indicators or other safety concerns.”
In addition, the report notes as of May court hearings for an additional 291,000 UCs have yet to be scheduled, putting their fate up in the air.
Technology Concerns
The IG blamed technology in part for the failure to track unaccompanied minors, noting that ICE did not have an “accurate, effective, or automated process for sharing information” and that filed offices are using “manual workarounds such as spreadsheets and emails.”
ICE also does not have an automated process to obtain information from the Department of Justice (DOJ) about UCs who don’t appear for court hearings.
“Additionally, ICE ERO (Enforcement and Removal Operations) has not developed a formal policy or process to follow up on UCs who did not appear in court, has limited oversight for monitoring UCs, and faced resource limitations,” stated the report.
Congressional Reaction
The report prompted swift reaction on Capitol Hill.
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) wrote to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas demanding answers.
“As the report explains, your agency’s failure to issue court notices to these children limits the ability to monitor their location and status,” wrote Senator Hawley. “In the Inspector General’s words: without such ability, there is thus “no assurance that [the children] are safe from trafficking, exploitation, or forced labor.”