Trump Administration Plans Deportation of 500 Unaccompanied Migrant Children

The Trump administration is preparing to deport more than 500 unaccompanied immigrant children who have remained in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement for at least six months without eligible sponsors. The plan targets children from countries including Afghanistan, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. The Office of Refugee Resettlement, under the Department of Health and Human Services, assisted the administration in identifying the children for removal.

Senator Ron Wyden condemned the effort as an escalation of executive overreach and an institutional failure that places vulnerable children in immediate danger. Although Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Emily Hilliard initially characterized such claims as irresponsible fearmongering and denied plans to target the children, the administration continued to move forward with the process. Separately, the Guatemalan-Maya Center has begun facilitating flights from Miami International Airport to reunite children with parents already deported to Latin America.

Concurrent with these deportation plans, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin testified before a House Appropriations Subcommittee that 450,000 migrant children released to sponsors by a previous administration remain unaccounted for. Mullin reported that the Department of Homeland Security has traced 147,000 of these children, discovering some in trafficking rings and underground bunkers. He described the crisis as preventable and announced the establishment of a larger task force to locate the remaining children.