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DHS Concedes Tracking Failures as Administration Expands Teen Self-Deportation Option

Congressional testimony revealed that federal agencies have lost track of hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied minors, prompting a policy to offer 14- to 17-year-olds the option of voluntary departure.

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - JUNE 12: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents guard outside Delaney Hall, a migrant detention facility, while anti-ICE activists demonstrate on June 12, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. Anti-ICE protests have been spreading to cities across America since Ice deportation quotas have increased. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
In this July 2020 photo, paper dolls are held by demonstrators protesting outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters in Washington, DC.
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Overview

  • DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari told a House subcommittee that agencies lacked reliable means to monitor over 448,000 unaccompanied migrant children transferred to HHS, with roughly 300,000 failing to appear for immigration court.
  • In a February enforcement initiative, ICE agents canvassed 50,000 sponsor addresses, locating just 12,347 children and arresting 403 sponsors on charges including immigration fraud and child endangerment.
  • The administration directed Customs and Border Protection officers to ask unaccompanied teens aged 14 to 17 if they choose to voluntarily depart the United States, extending self-deportation options beyond Mexico and Canada under recent legislation.
  • Under new ORR guidelines, staff must meet sponsors in person before placing children, and federal law enforcement may participate to bolster sponsor vetting and welfare checks.
  • Heightened congressional scrutiny reflects bipartisan concern over systemic tracking gaps, missed court hearings and the risks of exploitation facing unaccompanied migrant children.