ICE is showing up to interview parents hoping to reunite with their
children who entered US alone
[September 02, 2025]
By VALERIE GONZALEZ
McALLEN, Texas (AP) — President Donald Trump's administration has
started requiring parents looking to reunite with their children who
crossed into the U.S. alone to show up for interviews where immigration
officers may question them, according to a policy memo obtained by The
Associated Press.
Legal advocacy groups say the shift has led to the arrest of some
parents, while their children remain in U.S. custody. The U.S.
Department of Homeland Security did not confirm that or answer questions
about the July 9 directive, instead referring in a statement to the
Biden administration's struggles to properly vet and monitor homes where
children were placed.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement, which is part of the U.S. Health and
Human Services Department and which takes custody of children who cross
the border without a parent or legal guardian, issued the directive. The
agency said the goal is to ensure that sponsors — usually a parent or
guardian — are properly vetted.
The memo said sponsors must now appear in person for identification
verification. Previously, sponsors could submit identity documents
online. The directive also says “federal law enforcement agencies may be
present to meet their own mission objectives, which may include
interviewing sponsors.”
Neha Desai, managing director of human rights at the National Center for
Youth Law, said the change provides U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement a “built-in opportunity” to arrest parents — something she
said has already happened.
Mary Miller Flowers, director of policy and legislative affairs for the
Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights, said she knew of a case in
which immigration officers arrested the father of a child under the age
of 12 who had shown up for an identification check. "As a result, mom is
terrified of coming forward. And so, this child is stuck,” Miller
Flowers said.
Desai also said the interviews are unlikely to produce information
authorities don’t already have. Vetting already included home studies
and background checks done by Office of Refugee Resettlement staff, not
immigration enforcement.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement said it communicates “clearly and
proactively” with parents, telling them they may be interviewed by ICE
or other law enforcement officials. It said parents can decline to be
interviewed by ICE and that refusal won't influence decisions about
whether their children will be released to them.
“The goal is to ensure that every child is released to a stable and safe
environment and fully vetted sponsors by ensuring the potential sponsor
is the same individual submitting supporting documentation, including
valid ID,” it said in a statement.
However, Desai is aware of a situation in which a sponsor was not
notified and only able to decline after pushing back.
“We know of sponsors who are deeply, deeply fearful because of this
interview, but some are still willing to go forward given their
determination to get their children out of custody,” she said.
[to top of second column]
|
Trump administration points to Biden
Tricia McLaughlin, a Homeland Security spokesperson, issued a
statement that did not address any arrests or mention the specific
changes. Instead, she said the department is looking to protect
children who were released under President Joe Biden's
administration.
A federal watchdog report released last year addressed the Biden's
administration struggles during an increase in migrant children
arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border in 2021. The Trump administration
has dispatched Homeland Security and FBI agents to visit the
children.
Another recent change allows ICE to interview children while they
are at government-run shelters. That took effect July 2, according
to a separate directive that the Office of Refugee Resettlement sent
to shelters, also obtained by the AP.
The agency said it provides legal counsel to children and that its
staff does not participate in interviews with law enforcement. Child
legal advocates say they get as little as one-hour notice of the
interviews, and that the children often don't understand the purpose
of the interview or are misled by officers.
“If we don’t understand what the interview is for or where the
information is going, are we really consenting to this process?”
said Miller Flowers, with the Young Center.
Jennifer Podkul, chief of global policy at Kids in Need of Defense,
said some officers lack language skills, trauma-informed
interviewing techniques and knowledge of the reunification process.
“It seems like it’s designed just to cast the net wider on
immigration enforcement against adults,” she said.
String of policy changes adding hurdles to reunification process
The July changes are among a series of steps the Trump
administration has taken to ramp up vetting of parents seeking to
reunite with children.
The administration has required fingerprinting from sponsors and any
adults living in the home where children are released. It has also
required identification or proof of income that only those legally
present in the U.S. could acquire, as well as introducing DNA
testing and home visits by immigration officers.
Children have been spending more time in government-run shelters
under increased vetting. The average length of stay for those
released was 171 days in July, down from a peak of 217 days in April
but well above 37 days in January, when Trump took office.
About 2,000 unaccompanied children were in government custody in
July.
Shaina Aber, an executive director of the Acacia Center for Justice
analyzing child custody data, attributes the longer custody times to
the policy changes.
“The agency’s mission has been conflated and entangled,” she added.
“It seems ORR’s mission has been somewhat compromised in that they
are now doing more on the immigration enforcement side, and they’re
not an immigration enforcement entity.”
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
