Key facts
- U.S. immigration authorities have arrested over 12,000 people following tips from the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).
- The data covers tips shared during Donald Trump's second term.
- ORR has shared more than 460,000 "leads" with ICE about unaccompanied children and their sponsors.
- The policy shift has led to the detention and deportation of migrant families.
- Safeguards against data sharing with ICE have been reversed, according to a former ORR official.
Thousands of individuals, including children and their sponsors, have been arrested by U.S. immigration authorities following information provided by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) during Donald Trump's second term. This practice, which involves sharing over 460,000 "leads" with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), represents a significant departure from previous policies aimed at protecting unaccompanied migrant children.
The ORR, established to resettle refugees, has been tasked with housing unaccompanied migrant children arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border. Historically, the agency's operations were kept separate from immigration enforcement to ensure children could be reunited with their families without fear of detention or deportation, regardless of sponsors' legal status. However, data reviewed by Reuters indicates a drastic shift under the Trump administration.
Interviews with migrant families and legal advocates reveal the human toll of this policy. Aurora, a mother who entered the U.S. illegally, was reunited with her 6-year-old daughter after months apart, only for both to be detained by ICE days later. Similarly, Marleny and her partner were arrested at gunpoint by ICE agents two months after her son, Victor, was released from ORR custody. Victor is now left to care for his younger brother alone and faces a deportation order.
Former officials describe the current approach as "weaponizing a child welfare program for the purposes of more deportations." ORR stated it plays no role in the apprehension of children, referring enforcement questions to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DHS confirmed that ORR provided ICE with investigative leads to locate unaccompanied children placed with "unvetted sponsors," including those with criminal records. The vetting process for sponsors has also become more rigorous, increasing the time children spend in custody.