An Agency Tasked With Protecting Immigrant Children Is Becoming an Enforcement Arm, Current and Former Staffers Say

This news piece is in partnership with The Texas Tribune, a nonpartisan local news organization in Texas that informs and engages with Texans. Subscribe to The Brief Weekly for their comprehensive coverage of Texas issues.

The events began with a phone call. A man claiming to be a federal immigration officer contacted a Venezuelan father in San Antonio, questioning him about his teenage son. The officer mentioned that officials intended to visit the family’s apartment to assess the living conditions of the boy. Later that day, federal agents arrived at the complex, with the father recalling that they covered the peephole on the door with black tape. The agents repeatedly called out the names of the father and son, demanding they open the door and waiting for hours before leaving, as reported by the family. The father, aged 37, alarmed by the visits, reached out to an immigration lawyer who cautioned that the visits might be a pretext for deportation. The agents returned for the following two days, causing the father to miss work at a mechanic shop out of fear, while his son skipped school.

In recent months, Department of Homeland Security agents have conducted numerous such visits nationwide as part of a systematic effort to locate children who arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border unaccompanied and the sponsors caring for them during their immigration proceedings. The Office of Refugee Resettlement, responsible for overseeing the children’s welfare and screening their sponsors, has been involved in these assessments.

According to a dozen current and former government officials interviewed by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune, the agency’s focus seems to be shifting significantly as President Donald Trump aims to increase deportation rates during his second term. They suggest that a clear sign of this shift is the extensive checks being conducted by immigration agents using information provided by the resettlement agency to target sponsors and children for deportation.

While Trump administration officials argue that their actions aim to prevent abuse and trafficking of children, critics including current and former agency employees, immigration attorneys, and child advocates argue that the agency is straying from its humanitarian role. Recently, the administration dismissed the agency’s ombudsman, appointed by the Biden administration, which has raised concerns among advocates.

Republicans have previously criticized the ORR for instances of lax oversight, such as children working in hazardous environments. Advocates and agency officials acknowledge that abuse cases are rare but emphasize the need to address them. They argue that the recent policy changes could expose children and sponsors to precarious living and working conditions due to the fear of deportation.

The Trump administration’s efforts to enhance immigration enforcement have been met with resistance, including a federal lawsuit challenging the reversal of key provisions of a 2024 rule. This rule prohibited ORR from using immigration status to deny sponsors the ability to care for children and from sharing sponsor information for immigration enforcement purposes. The lawsuit contends that undoing these provisions has led to the prolonged detention of children due to sponsors’ fears or inability to meet requirements.

Under new leadership, ORR has implemented stringent screening measures for sponsors of immigrant children to ensure proper vetting. These measures include expanding DNA checks of relatives and setting higher income requirements. ORR maintains that its policies aim to facilitate the safe placement of unaccompanied minors and emphasizes that it is not an immigration enforcement entity.

The Trump administration’s actions have raised concerns about the privacy and security of children and sponsors, with Senator Ron Wyden expressing worries about information sharing for immigration enforcement purposes. The administration’s push for increased collaboration between HHS and Homeland Security has drawn criticism for potentially jeopardizing vulnerable children.

The ORR has seen changes in leadership and operations under the Trump administration, with an increased focus on immigration enforcement. The agency’s close ties with ICE have sparked fear among advocates about potential overreach and reduced oversight.