(NewsNation) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are unable to effectively monitor more than 600,000 children who illegally crossed the southern border unaccompanied by a guardian since 2019, according to a new report from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General.
The report said that hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied migrant children entered the country and were transferred from ICE to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement. Of those children, however, 233,000 have not yet been served notices to appear in immigration court by ICE as of this week, the report said.
As of last October, more than 43,000 unaccompanied children who were served with court orders did not show up for scheduled court dates. In addition, 31,000 of those who were released to sponsors had release forms that did not include addresses, had missing apartment numbers or were undeliverable, the inspector general’s office said in its report.
Officials also indicated ICE was not always aware of the location of unaccompanied children who ran away from sponsors they were assigned.
Reuters, citing an internal memo, reported this week that ICE has responded with a four-phase implementation plan to track down the missing migrant children and deport them as part of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan. The agency did not immediately respond to an email from NewsNation seeking comment about the agency’s plan.
In response to the report, however, the Trump administration overhauled a provision that was included in the Federal Register that prevented the HHS ORR division from sharing information about unaccompanied migrant children with other law enforcement or immigration enforcement agency. The amendment went into effect immediately after the order to remove the previous restriction on information sharing.
Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph Cuffari determined that ICE was ineffective in overseeing those migrant children who were designated to be deported by not issuing court orders to appear that would have added court dates for the 233,000 unaccompanied children who were never given court dates.
However, the report said part of the agency’s shortcomings in monitoring these migrant children were due to staffing shortages and because it did not have policies in place to ensure that all officers monitor the cases.
Officials also noted ICE does not have an automated process for sharing information internally with several departments and agencies and has not developed a policy for unaccompanied migrant children who do not show up for scheduled court dates.
“Without an ability to monitor the location and status of UACs, ICE is unable to facilitate court appearances and has no assurances (migrant children) are safe from trafficking, exploitation, forced labor or involvement in criminal activities that may pose a risk to local communities,” Cuffari wrote in the report.
The report indicated ICE was not always notified of the unaccounted-for children unless it received a tip.
Cuffari wrote that ICE must take immediate action to ensure the safety of unaccompanied migrant children who are living in the United States. By not issuing notices to appear to the migrant unaccompanied children, ICE limits its chances of making contact with these children when they are released from Health and Human Services custody, the report stated.
That, in turn, reduces the chances of verifying that these children are safe.
In a House Homeland Security Committee Subcommittee on Border Security meeting this week, U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, said the issue of the missing migrant children does not receive enough attention.
“Regardless of their legal status, where are the children?” Gonzales asked.
Lora Ries, director of the conservative Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, testified at the hearing that HHS officials became overwhelmed by the number of unaccompanied children who crossed the border during the Biden administration.
She said those children were treated like “widgets on an assembly line” and were turned over to unvetted sponsors. Ries said that some of the children were subjected to sex trafficking, child labor and other criminal activities.
“We’re going to have to work really hard to find these children,” Gonzales said during the committee hearing. “No one else is going to advocate for them.”
NewsNation’s Ali Bradley contributed reporting to this story.
