Nicolai Haugsted
Trump’s immigration crackdown reached migrant children through government data, research finds.
Government records reviewed by Reuters have revealed the scale of cooperation between two U.S. agencies that historically served very different purposes, exposing a policy shift that has resulted in thousands of immigration arrests under President Donald Trump’s second administration.
According to the records, the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) has supplied Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with hundreds of thousands of investigative leads tied to unaccompanied migrant children, their sponsors and members of their households. Reuters reports that the information has contributed to more than 12,000 arrests since January 2025.
Child welfare information used for immigration enforcement
For decades, ORR has been responsible for caring for unaccompanied migrant children after they arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border. Federal law sought to ensure those children could be placed with relatives or other sponsors as quickly and safely as possible, regardless of the sponsors’ immigration status.
Reuters reports that approach has changed dramatically during Trump’s second term.
Internal government data reviewed by the news agency shows ORR has shared more than 460,000 “leads” with ICE covering children, parents, relatives serving as sponsors and other people living in the same households.
Former ORR deputy director Jen Smyers, who served during the Biden administration, said long-standing protections have effectively disappeared.
“They are weaponizing a child welfare program for the purposes of more deportations,” she told Reuters.
ORR said in a statement that it “plays no role in the apprehension of children” and referred questions regarding immigration enforcement to the Department of Homeland Security.
DHS confirmed that ORR has provided Homeland Security Investigations with “potential investigative leads” as part of efforts to locate children placed with “unvetted sponsors,” including some with criminal records.
Family reunited before being detained
Reuters highlights the case of Aurora, a 24-year-old mother whose six-year-old daughter crossed the border alone and spent more than six months in government custody before the family was reunited.
“We were overjoyed,” Aurora said.
According to Reuters, immigration agents contacted Aurora shortly before the reunion and instructed her to report to an ICE office days later.
During the appointment, she recalled telling officers: “I had any problems in the U.S. and I said ‘no, because I haven’t done anything wrong. All I do is work.'”
Government records reviewed by Reuters show Aurora and her daughter were detained during that visit and transferred to a family detention center in Texas, where they remained for three weeks before being released under supervision.
DHS confirmed details of the detention and said Aurora acknowledged she had been “illegally smuggled across the border.”
Longer stays for migrant children
Reuters reports that expanded background checks introduced under the Trump administration now require fingerprinting everyone living in a sponsor’s household.
According to ORR data cited by Reuters, those additional screening measures have significantly increased the average time children remain in government custody—from 30 days during fiscal year 2024 to 194 days in June 2026.
ORR said the enhanced vetting process is intended to protect children from harm.
More families affected
Reuters also recounts the story of Marleny, who fled Guatemala with her youngest son before later sponsoring her older son after he entered the United States alone.
Following his release from ORR custody, Marleny said the family celebrated together.
“I was so happy,” she said. “I didn’t know then what God had in store for me.”
Weeks later, Marleny and her partner were arrested by ICE as they prepared to leave for work.
DHS told Reuters officers were executing a criminal search warrant involving Marleny’s partner but declined to answer follow-up questions regarding the alleged offense or how investigators located him.
Legal advocates interviewed by Reuters say such cases have become increasingly common.
“We’ve seen so many sponsors arrested and collateral arrests with them,” said Alexa Sendukas, managing attorney with the Galveston-Houston Immigrant Representation Project.
Reuters reports that Marleny’s older son is now caring for his six-year-old brother alone while also trying to fight his own immigration case after missing a court hearing following his mother’s arrest.
