Sec. Mullin: DHS moves on sanctuary cities to rescue missing children

As Trump officials reveal a child-trafficking crackdown, they say Biden’s border policies left hundreds of thousands of migrant children effectively “on their own” in America’s shadows.

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Federal watchdogs say immigration officials failed to track more than 300,000 unaccompanied migrant children, leaving them at higher risk of trafficking and abuse.^[1]^[2]^[3]
Inspectors found Immigration and Customs Enforcement could not always monitor children’s locations or court cases, and tens of thousands skipped hearings with no follow-up.^[2]
Trump-era officials Blanche and Mullin now lead a nationwide effort to find these kids, vet sponsors, and shut down trafficking rings built on Biden-era failures.^[3]^[5]
New initiatives order welfare checks with local police and a full review of some 450,000 children released to sponsors during the Biden years.^[5]

DHS Watchdog: Government ‘Cannot Account’ for Migrant Children

The Department of Homeland Security Inspector General warned in 2024 that Immigration and Customs Enforcement could not always monitor where unaccompanied migrant children went after release from federal care.^[2] The watchdog said more than 32,000 children skipped immigration court hearings in recent years, and agents were “not able to account” for many of their locations.^[2] The report also found that as of May 2024, over 291,000 children had not even been placed into removal proceedings because they never received a notice to appear in court.^[2]^[3]

Another summary of the same oversight report said officials had potentially lost track of “thousands” of unaccompanied minors, leaving them at special risk of trafficking, exploitation, and forced labor.^[1] One faith-based group echoed those findings, noting nearly 300,000 children lacked court dates and quoting the Inspector General’s warning that without reliable contact information, authorities had “no assurance” the children were safe.^[1] While some advocacy groups now argue many of these cases reflect paperwork gaps rather than physical disappearances, they still admit the government’s data and tracking systems are seriously broken.

Biden-Era Sponsor System Under Fire for Weak Vetting and Oversight

Critics inside and outside Congress say the Biden administration’s rush to move children out of federal shelters led to lax sponsor checks and poor follow-up.^[3]^[5]^[6]^[7] A Senate letter in 2024 pointed to reports that the Office of Refugee Resettlement inside the Department of Health and Human Services had “lost contact” with more than 85,000 children who were released to private sponsors.^[6]^[7] Lawmakers warned that both immigration and health agencies failed to share information when children missed court, making it harder to order wellness checks or catch signs of trafficking.^[6]^[7]

A separate oversight review of child migrant shelters found many sponsors were never fully screened before kids were released to their care.^[5] One 2021 report from the Health and Human Services Inspector General said about 19 percent of sponsors did not get fingerprint checks through the Federal Bureau of Investigation or searches of state child-abuse and neglect registries.^[5] During the Biden years, the Department of Homeland Security referred more than 448,000 unaccompanied children to the health agency between 2019 and 2023, with only a small fraction receiving deeper safety home studies before release. Researchers warn these weak spots increase risks of abuse, homelessness, and trafficking for already vulnerable minors.

Trump Administration Crackdown: Finding Kids and Targeting Trafficking Rings

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin now say the Trump administration is “moving heaven and hell” to fix those failures and rescue children who vanished in the system.^[5]^[6] At their recent press conference, they announced a coordinated Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security operation to find unaccompanied minors released during the Biden years and to target smuggling networks that used fake sponsorship claims to bring children into the country.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[5] Officials said they have already located well over one hundred thousand kids and are still searching for nearly 300,000 more tied to Biden-era releases.^[1]^[3]^[5]

Major crackdown on border trafficking ringshttps://t.co/DHhFCAM9vR

Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and Homeland Security Sec. Markwayne Mullin hold a joint press conference outlining federal operations to locate missing unaccompanied migrant children and prosecute…

— Deborah (@Deborah07849071) June 11, 2026

Policy documents show Immigration and Customs Enforcement rolled out a “Unaccompanied Alien Children Joint Initiative Field Implementation” order in January 2025 directing agents to find children released from federal custody, verify their safety, and ensure they meet their immigration obligations.^[5] A related “Safety Verification Initiative” launched with local law-enforcement partners under section 287(g) now sends officers door to door to conduct welfare checks on roughly 450,000 children released to sponsors during the Biden administration.^[5] The Department of Homeland Security says these visits have already uncovered trafficking, labor exploitation, and serious abuse, and officials insist tougher vetting and tracking will now be standard going forward.^[5]