Reports on social media and in some news outlets claim that the Trump administration is stealing children, kidnapping children, or has lost thousands of children as a result of immigration enforcement. These claims imply that the United States should have open borders and stop deporting illegal aliens because liberals believe this would make children safer. The reality is that no children have been stolen, kidnapped, or lost by the Trump administration. In most instances, the adult accompanying the child is arrested or deported, and the child enters the system until a legal guardian can be found.
In many cases, this becomes complicated because the guardian is also an illegal alien who refuses to come forward and collect the child. Far from stealing children, the Trump administration is taking an active stance against child trafficking, which is closely tied to illegal immigration, with parents even renting their children to other migrants to expedite their entry into the United States.
In April through September 2018, the Trump administration reported that it could not determine the whereabouts of roughly 1,475 to 1,500 unaccompanied immigrant children. HHS made follow-up calls to 7,635 children from October to December 2017 and could not account for about 1,475 of them, roughly 19 percent. From April 1 to June 30, 2018, HHS contacted 11,254 immigrant children and could not determine where about 1,488 of them were, or roughly 13 percent.
The Trump White House explained that these children were not lost. About 90 percent of the children’s sponsors are parents or close relatives already living in the United States. Because the 30-day follow-up calls are voluntary, many sponsors do not respond. Some avoid speaking to federal authorities because they are illegal aliens. Others simply do not answer unknown numbers, have moved without updating contact information, or have disconnected or incorrect phone numbers. None of these situations means the children are missing.
Between July and November 2018, ICE arrested 170 potential sponsors and placed them in deportation proceedings after they stepped forward to sponsor unaccompanied children. ICE estimated that about 80 percent of active UAC sponsors and accompanying family members were residing in the country illegally. These children arrived in the United States without their parents, so federal officials did not separate them from their families.
Much of the public confusion came from conflating unaccompanied children who could not be reached by phone with the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance policy. The 1,475 children in question crossed the border alone. Children who were separated from adults who were not legitimate guardians, such as suspected traffickers or smugglers using children for easier entry, were placed in HHS custody. Confirming family relationships can take time, particularly when documents are missing or fraudulent. And even when legitimate relatives come forward, locating a child within the system requires navigating bureaucratic processes.
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