SAN ANTONIO () Hundreds of gang members and violent criminals exploited a federal visa program designed to protect abused and abandoned migrant children, according to a report released by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The report reveals that at least 853 known or suspected gang members filed petitions under the Special Immigrant Juvenile program between fiscal year 2013 and February 2025. More than 600 of the applicants were identified as MS-13 members, many charged with racketeering and murder.
Immigration officials approved more than 500 of these applications, including petitions from members of violent gangs such as the 18th Street Gang, Sureños and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua.
The SIJ program was created to provide legal status to children who suffered abuse, abandonment or neglect and cannot reunify with their parents. However, USCIS officials say many applicants entered the country illegally and committed age or identity fraud to qualify.
Because the program does not require applicants to have a clean criminal record, even those charged with violent crimes were still approved for legal status.
The revelations come as Immigration and Customs Enforcement grapples with locating hundreds of thousands of missing migrant minors. ICE has found 10,000 children previously released to unvetted sponsors, but more than 300,000 remain unaccounted for.
Officials warn that 61% of the missing children are teenage boys between ages 14 and 17, making them prime targets for cartel recruitment.
In response to the findings, USCIS has already rescinded a policy that automatically protected SIJ petitioners from deportation. Officials indicate additional changes to the program could be coming as part of a broader crackdown on immigration loopholes.
ICE field offices have been tasked with tracking down the missing minors, some of whom may have gang ties or used fraudulent identities to gain entry into the United States.
