WASHINGTON – The Trump administration has uncovered over 15,000 instances where adults have assumed custody of multiple immigrant children who entered the United States without parental accompaniment, officials revealed on Thursday. This discovery hints at a potential move towards prosecuting what are termed as “prolific child sponsors.”
The Justice Department drew attention to cases involving three Guatemalan nationals, illustrating the risks associated with inadequate vetting in the sponsorship process. This program’s goal is to reunite children with relatives or family acquaintances after they arrive in the U.S. Authorities are currently investigating numerous “super-sponsors” — individuals who have taken in more than three unrelated children — to determine if any fraudulent activity is involved.
“We refuse to take half measures when it comes to border security, protecting American citizens, and safeguarding children from exploitation,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stated during a press briefing.
While taking custody of multiple unrelated migrant children isn’t illegal, the administration’s focus on these sponsors suggests a growing suspicion, potentially leading to more rigorous scrutiny of such individuals.
The Biden administration has aimed to expedite the process of placing children with qualified adult sponsors, often completing the reunification within 30 days. However, this swift approach has sometimes led to mistakes, with some children being placed with adults who subjected them to illegal labor or with individuals who provided blatantly false identification and addresses.
Under President Trump, stricter regulations were implemented to prevent the illegal trafficking of children into the country, resulting in significantly longer detention periods for these minors. As of May, the average duration of federal custody for children has surged to 206 days, a stark contrast to the 37-day average when Trump assumed office. Concurrently, the total number of children in custody has been decreasing steadily.
Striking a balance to release children to vetted sponsors and shielding them from danger has proved a contentious partisan disagreement.
Democrats “want to claim that Republicans, because we’re enforcing the laws, it’s inhumane, somehow,” Blanche said after criticizing the vetting procedures under the Biden administration. “What’s inhumane about taking care of our kids?”
The cases announced Thursday include charges against a woman who, authorities say, was living in the U.S. illegally, schemed with others to smuggle kids across the border, then used fake identities to gain custody of them in exchange for money. In another case, a woman is accused of falsely claiming that she was siblings with a teen who had entered the U.S. illegally in her application to become the teen’s sponsor.
The Associated Press has sought comment from attorneys representing the accused in those cases.
Critics of the Trump administration have raised concerns over wellness checks carried out by immigration officers at elementary schools, immigration officers showing up and detaining sponsors at reunification meetings with children, and newly required documentation that’s created a “paperwork barrier” and led to a recent lawsuit.
Even sponsors willing to undergo the new vetting procedures have been forced to wait through unnecessary delays.
A Chicago father who is a U.S. citizen and had a valid birth certificate for his child was kept waiting for five months before the government could schedule a fingerprinting appointment. During the wait, his toddler daughter was sexually abused in federal custody, a lawsuit claimed.
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Gonzalez reported from McAllen, Texas.
