The Trump administration is once again targeting and isolating children in its anti-immigration campaign, this time seeking to expedite the removal of thousands of unaccompanied children.
Reuters and other national news outlets reported Feb. 23 on an internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo that directs immigration agents to track down hundreds of thousands of migrant children who entered the United States without their parents.
This memo surfaced two days after the administration instructed groups providing legal services to unaccompanied immigrant children to stop their work, then quickly reversed that decision after a public outcry. The original order would have left young children facing deportation without due process of law.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as Senior Advisor to the President Stephen Miller (C) listens during a round-table discussion on border security and safe communities with state, local, and community leaders in the Cabinet Room of the White House on January 11, 2019, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
In the previous Trump presidency, presidential adviser Stephen Miller was credited with creating the infamous “family separation” policy that led federal agents to tear children away from their parents after crossing the border illegally. Six years later, up to 1,000 of those children have not been accounted for or reunited with their parents. Miller is back in the new Trump administration as special advisor to the president.
In the newly revealed ICE memo, titled “Unaccompanied Alien Children Joint Initiative Field Implementation,” Trump administration officials blame the Biden administration for allowing unaccompanied children to enter the country and become victims of human trafficking and exploitation.
Advocates who work with immigrant children and families contend the opposite is true, that the greater risk for trafficking happens when children are targeted by ICE and families are fearful.
According to government data, more than 600,000 immigrant children have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without a parent or legal guardian since 2019. The majority are from Central America and Mexico.
The new ICE memo outlines a plan to track them down, scrutinize the families they are living with and even use DNA testing to determine if the children’s U.S. sponsors are related to them.
Kids in Need of Defense, a leader in protection of unaccompanied refugee and migrant children, responded rapidly to the ICE memo. KIND has provided legal representation to more than 28,000 children in immigration with help from 700 law firms.
“Full access to legal counsel is also essential to protect children from trafficking and exploitation.”
“The unique needs of children require the administration to ensure a level of care that takes into account their vulnerability while it determines whether they need long-term protection in the United States,” said KIND President Wendy Young. “Access to legal services for all unaccompanied children released from U.S. government custody must be the core of a holistic policy to protect unaccompanied children from exploitation and trafficking and to ensure compliance with any immigration court and ICE requirements.”
She added: “Full access to legal counsel is also essential to protect children from trafficking and exploitation and comply with enforcement procedures. If due process is afforded, an immigration court orders a child removed, and it is safe for them to return to their country of origin, that child should have access to support and services necessary to ensure a successful return and reintegration process so that the child can safely remain in their country of origin and not feel compelled to flee again.”
The events of recent days appear to be one step backward, another forward and then again backward for advocates of immigrant children.
Acacia Center for Justice and Immigrant Defenders Law Center, known as ImmDef, are two of the group affected by the earlier stop-work order.
“We welcome the news that the stop-work order on Acacia’s Unaccompanied Children Program has been lifted,” said Shaina Aber, executive director of Acacia Center. “We will continue working alongside the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that these critical services upholding the basic due process rights of vulnerable children are fully restored and our partners in the legal field — legal lifelines safeguarding the rights and well-being of children seeking safety — can resume their work without future disruption or delay.”
ImmDef President Lindsay Toczylowski explained what she believes caused the sudden reversal of course: “In the past 48 hours, people appalled by the cruelty shown to migrant children sent over 15,000 letters to Congress. They demanded that legal access for unaccompanied children be restored, and that this administration protect children in their care. We are deeply grateful for their support. Now, children across the nation won’t have to face the immediate threat.”
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