Thousands of Children, Sponsors Arrested by ICE After Tips From US Child Migrant Agency

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They are among more than 12,000 people arrested ‌by U.S. immigration authorities following tips from the Office of Refugee Resettlement during President Donald Trump’s second term, according to internal government data reviewed exclusively by Reuters.

ORR was created in 1980 to resettle refugees fleeing war and persecution. Since the early 2000s, the agency has also been charged with housing unaccompanied migrant children arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border, like Aurora’s daughter.

The care of these children has historically been walled off from immigration enforcement. A 2008 law sought to ensure they were placed in the least restrictive setting and released from detention as soon as safely possible, regardless of their sponsors’ legal status.

That meant migrant families could be reunited without fear of being targeted by ​ICE, even if they were in the country illegally.

The Trump administration has taken a drastically different approach. Since January 2025, the data shows, ORR has shared more than 460,000 “leads” with ICE about unaccompanied children, their sponsors — usually parents or other relatives — and additional ​household members, leaving them vulnerable to detention and deportation.

While Reuters and others have reported on the growing cooperation between ORR and ICE, this story is the first to reveal the scale of the information shared for ⁠immigration enforcement.

Interviews with migrant families, legal advocates and current and former U.S. officials illustrate the far-reaching implications of this policy shift and its human toll.

Jen Smyers, who served as deputy director of ORR during the Biden administration, said safeguards against data sharing with ICE have been “completely reversed.”

“They are ​weaponizing a child welfare program for the purposes of more deportations,” she said.

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Under Trump, the screening process for sponsors now includes a number ​of extra steps, including requiring fingerprints of all household members. As a consequence, the amount of time unaccompanied children spend in custody has increased from an average of 30 days in fiscal year 2024 to 194 days in June 2026, according to ORR figures.

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