U.S. struggles to track minors immigrating alone, report says

Officials can not fully account for unaccompanied children who crossed the border in the last five years, a government watchdog agency reported Tuesday to Congress. When a child arrives alone at the border, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is responsible for processing them and transferring their care to the Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS. ICE is then responsible for monitoring their location after they are released from the custody of HHS.

But ICE officials did not always notify the HHS when children failed to appear for their court hearings, the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General’s office reported. Out of nearly 450,000 unaccompanied children it transferred to HHS from 2019 to 2023, ICE reported that 32,000 failed to appear for immigration court hearings. Many more unaccompanied children reportedly were never summoned by ICE to appear in court. The report didn’t name the exact number of minors missing from the system. Inspector General Joseph Cuffari wrote that without the ability to monitor unaccompanied migrant children, ICE cannot guarantee they are safe from trafficking, exploitation, or forced labor.

What solutions does the report suggest? The DHS urged ICE to improve its communication and data sharing practices with HHS to ensure children are properly tracked. The report also called on the agency to develop an automated system to document court appearances and maintain address information of unaccompanied children.

How have politicians responded? House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday blamed Kamala Harris and the Biden administration for the tracking failures. The U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee Republicans also blamed the administration, and said the lack of tracking enabled cartels and human traffickers to prey on children. Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., is set to speak about immigration Wednesday at the Democratic National Convention, according to Axios.

Dig deeper:Read Addie Offereins’ report in WORLD Magazine about how an influx of immigrants helps cut federal debt.