POLITICS TODAY: “Trump directs ICE to track down ‘hundreds of thousands’ of migrant children who came to US without their parents”

Trump directs ICE to track down ‘hundreds of thousands’ of migrant children who came to US without their parents

Immigration enforcement officers have been directed to track down and deport migrant children who arrived in the United States without their parents.

It comes amid heightened pressures to reach President Trump’s lofty deportation targets as part of his election commitment to solve America’s immigration crisis.

According to an internal memo seen by Reuters, agents at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will now direct their focus to unaccompanied minors.

The memo cited a ‘planning phase’ to begin on January 27, followed by three more phases of implementation, to begin at an unspecified date.

Trump signed an executive order upon returning to the White House rolling back certain protections for migrants which forbade ICE officers from arresting them at certain locations – including schools.

More than 600,000 immigrant children have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without a parent or legal guardian since 2019, according to government data.

The memo is headlined the ‘Unaccompanied Alien Children Joint Initiative Field Implementation.’

Authorities, as part of the instructions, are to ensure children are not victims of human trafficking or being exploited before deporting them.

Children would be served a notice to appear in immigration court to decide their fates. Those with deportation orders already pending against them would be deported instantly.

Agents have been instructed to prioritize children determined to be ‘flight risks’, along with threats to ‘public safety’ and finally, ‘border security.’

Children who are deemed ‘flight risks’ are those who have otherwise failed to attend court hearings, or those who have been released to sponsors who aren’t direct relatives.

Unaccompanied children have historically been placed in homes with sponsor families after being taken in by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).

During his first administration, Trump used data gathered to vet these sponsors to help him complete more targeted arrests, as oftentimes sponsors themselves could be, or could know, other undocumented immigrants.

Once a child has left the custody of ORR, the office is not required to track their whereabouts.