Trump Orders ICE to Locate Migrant Children in the US

ICE Tasked with Finding Unaccompanied Migrant Minors

On February 23, 2025, the Trump administration directed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to locate and deport unaccompanied migrant children who entered the United States without their parents. An internal ICE memo outlines a phased plan, initiated on January 27, focusing on over 600,000 children who have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border since 2019. Many of these children have been ordered deported after missing immigration court hearings.

The initiative categorizes the children into three priority groups: “flight risk,” “public safety,” and “border security,” with initial enforcement targeting those deemed “flight risks.” The plan also includes stricter vetting of sponsors, DNA tests to confirm familial relationships, and collaboration with the FBI on related cases. This move has sparked criticism from civil rights organizations and immigration advocates, who argue it could lead to family separations and place vulnerable children at greater risk.

In a related development, the administration has begun utilizing Guantánamo Bay to detain migrants, including unaccompanied children. Recently, 178 Venezuelan migrants apprehended on U.S. soil were sent to the facility, with 127 housed in Camp 6, previously used for alleged Al Qaeda combatants. This decision has sparked outrage and legal action from groups including the ACLU, highlighting that these migrants have even less access to legal counsel than military detainees held under post-9/11 laws.

The administration plans to expand military involvement in deportations, chartering smaller, more expensive military aircraft for these operations, and aims to utilize Guantánamo to temporarily house up to 30,000 migrants. Critics argue that this strategy involves painting all undocumented immigrants as criminals, using Guantánamo as a political tool to propel mass deportation policies.