A damning new report from the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general confirms that tens of thousands of unaccompanied migrant children released under the Biden administration cannot be located. The government’s own audit found that poor coordination and incomplete records left more than 31,000 minors untracked, with their current status unknown.
Between 2019 and 2023, federal authorities released more than 448,000 unaccompanied minors into the custody of sponsors after transferring them from the Department of Homeland Security to the Department of Health and Human Services. However, a significant portion were released to addresses that lacked critical information such as apartment numbers or were entirely missing.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was unable to verify where many of these children were sent, and in several cases, had no knowledge when children fled HHS custody. The report warned that ICE had no assurance the children were protected from trafficking, forced labor or criminal recruitment.
The failure wasn’t limited to tracking. The report shows that more than half of the minors were never served court notices. For those who were, tens of thousands missed their court dates, raising concerns about the long-term implications of the government’s disorganized handling.
Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) said the situation reflects a deep betrayal of public trust. “The fact that we can’t locate tens of thousands of these minors is completely unacceptable,” he said during a recent hearing. Gonzales noted that children were subjected to trafficking and abuse because of gaps in oversight.
Inspector General Joseph Cuffari acknowledged that ICE’s staffing levels were too low to monitor the full caseload and that agencies had failed to share sponsor data consistently. ICE also had to rely on external tips to flag cases involving potential exploitation.
The inspector general’s office has previously revealed that federal agencies allowed noncitizens without ID to board domestic flights, raising further questions about the consequences of relaxed border protocols.
