Door knocks and DNA tests: How Trump adminis plans to keep tabs on migrant kids

a year ago

The Trump administration is conducting a nationwide review of 450,000 migrant children who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without parents during Biden's term.
Officials aim to track these children, ensure their safety, and address concerns about sponsors, including potential exploitation and illegal status.
Tactics include door knocks, interviews, and deploying Homeland Security and FBI agents, raising fears among advocates of mass deportations.
About 100 children have been removed from sponsors and placed back into federal custody in the past two months.
New rules require sponsors to submit fingerprints, DNA tests, and income verification, complicating the process for undocumented or low-income sponsors.
Advocates worry the review targets undocumented families, separating children from their sponsors under the guise of welfare checks.
Cases of exploitation have emerged, including a man who falsely claimed a 14-year-old girl as his sister and later pleaded guilty to sexual battery.
The administration has cut funding for legal representation for migrant children and tightened sponsorship requirements, making it harder for children to leave federal custody.

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