ICE Can't Find 32,000 Unaccompanied Immigrant Children

The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General (DHS OIG) has released a report highlighting significant issues in the handling of immigration cases involving unaccompanied minors. The report, sent to Congress on August 19, reveals that over 448,000 unaccompanied minors were transferred from ICE custody to the Department of Health and Human Services between 2019 and 2023. The findings, based on extensive interviews and site visits, indicate that immigration officers struggle to monitor the whereabouts and status of these children, raising concerns about their safety and vulnerability to trafficking and exploitation. Inspector General Joseph Cuffari emphasized the urgent need for ICE to enhance oversight and monitoring of facilities housing unaccompanied minors. He noted that a failure to deliver notices to appear or schedule court dates for more than 291,000 children has left them outside of removal proceedings as of May 2024. This lack of communication may have contributed to a higher number of children missing their court hearings than the reported 32,000. Cuffari recommended the development of an automated system to track court appearances and maintain updated address information for these minors. The report also touched on broader immigration issues, including the potential extension of parole authority for noncitizens married to U.S. citizens. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra addressed concerns regarding the placement of children, clarifying that they were sent to similar geographic areas rather than the same addresses. As of now, ICE and DHS have not provided comments on the report.