Stephen Miller Leads Multi-Agency Drive to Deport Migrant Children

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller is leading a multi-agency initiative to accelerate the removal of undocumented immigrant children from the United States. The operation coordinates efforts across the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, State Department, and Department of Defense.

Since January 2025, immigration judges have ordered the removal of nearly 200,000 children, with 70% of those individuals under the age of 13. To facilitate these deportations, hundreds of children are being sent to Texas. The administration has implemented tactics such as rushing asylum adjudications, defunding legal services for minors, and sharing confidential welfare files with enforcement agencies. Additionally, former immigration enforcement officials have been appointed to senior child welfare roles at the Office of Refugee Resettlement.

White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis characterized the efforts as an initiative to locate and rescue children. Critics, however, argue the government is violating federal law and dismantling child welfare safeguards to meet deportation quotas.