Trump admin aims to protect child trafficking victims with deportation order

• A memo from Immigration and Customs Enforcement outlines a new effort to deport unaccompanied minors. Agents are sorting the migrant children into three priority groups.
• The memo outlines initiatives to ensure children are not victims of human trafficking or other forms of exploitation.
• The Trump administration recently reversed its order to cut off legal aid for unaccompanied child immigrants.

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In a departure from Immigration Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) usual prioritization of targeting adults with criminal records, the Trump administration is now ordering agents to track down migrant children who entered the United States without their parents. A memo from ICE, obtained by multiple news outlets, outlines a four-phase implementation strategy, which started in January with a planning stage.

It did not list a start date for enforcement operations. 

The memo states children will be deported if they have existing deportation orders or are served with a notice to appear in immigration court.

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What are three categories migrant children will be placed in?

Children labeled as “flight risks,” including immigrants who did not appear at a hearing are being prioritized with the remaining minors labeled “public safety” or “border security.”

Children who arrive in the U.S. without a parent or legal guardian are put in the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement until they can be placed in a home with a sponsor. That is usually a parent or other relative, to await legal proceedings. 

According to the ORR website, the children may have histories of abuse or may be seeking safety from threats of violence after being trafficked or smuggled, which ICE’s memo states it’s aiming to prevent. 

Federal halt for legal aid recently reversed

The new deportation initiative comes as the Trump administration pulls back its order to cut off legal aid for unaccompanied child immigrants, just three days after the government instructed attorneys across the country to stop their work.

The group providing legal assistance to undocumented migrants, the Acacia Center for Justice, confirmed the news on Friday, Feb. 21.

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“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,” Shaina Aber, executive director of the Acacia Center for Justice said. 

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.