Numerous Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have been granted access to a database containing information about unaccompanied children who entered the United States, revisiting a policy from the first Trump administration that was later revoked by subsequent leadership. According to an email acquired by NPR, the acting director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) stated that upcoming modifications are essential for fostering a culture focused on the safety and accountability of children. However, some advocates express concerns that this information might be utilized for immigration enforcement against families that unlawfully host these children within the country.
This access to the ORR-maintained database was disclosed by a staff member who spoke under anonymity due to fears of retaliation. The access was provided under the direction of ORR’s interim leadership. Unlike many immigration-related agencies, ORR operates under the Department of Health and Human Services instead of the Department of Homeland Security. This development follows the appointment of Mellissa Harper, an ICE official from New Orleans, to a temporary federal assignment as ORR’s acting director.
The Biden administration had previously rescinded a measure from President Trump’s first term, which authorized ORR and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to exchange biometric and immigration-status information about the children, their sponsors, and adults residing in their households. ICE and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) did not provide immediate comments on the matter.
In her email to employees, Harper emphasized the necessity of altering both practices and culture within the sponsor evaluation process, highlighting the importance of rejecting justifiable fraud. She urged staff to critically assess their roles in the unaccompanied child process and to take responsibility in cultivating a culture of enhanced accountability and safety measures.
The concept of accessing this data was initially proposed by Tom Homan, former border czar under Trump’s administration, who mentioned that the data’s purpose was not mainly for enforcement, though he did not rule out the possibility of such use in the future. Recent HHS figures indicate that as of January 29, there were 4,096 unaccompanied children in ORR’s care, with an average duration of 36 days spent within the agency’s custody.
During Trump’s initial term, an agreement between ORR, ICE, and Customs and Border Protection enabled data sharing that included arrests, deaths, and criminal activities, along with biometric information and citizenship status of all adults in the household. Immigrant rights advocates had contested this data-sharing agreement, arguing it could hinder the ORR’s ability to place children with suitable caregivers or reunite them with family members.
The Congressional Research Service, an impartial research body within the Library of Congress, reported that between July and November 2018, ICE had reportedly detained 170 potential sponsors, 109 of whom had no previous criminal records, placing them in deportation proceedings. Some data collection mandates were later rolled back, according to the report.
Homan expressed at the beginning of the administration that he sought data access to verify the safety of children under ORR’s care. He asserted that over 300,000 children had been placed with unvetted sponsors, a claim also reiterated by different political figures, though advocates and Democrats contend there’s no substantiated evidence for this claim. This figure is derived from a DHS report noting that nearly 300,000 unaccompanied migrant children had yet to receive their court appearance notice, and 32,000 had missed a court hearing between October 2018 and September 2023.
Although the report did not specify reasons for these occurrences, immigration rights advocates argue there are numerous potential factors, such as the commencement of removal proceedings or court documents dispatched to incorrect addresses. Yet, a 2023 investigation by The New York Times identified unaccompanied migrant children as being particularly susceptible to violating labor laws by working full-time.
