Several Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have been permitted access to information in a refugee relocation database on unaccompanied minors who have come into the United States illegally, NPR first reported on Friday.
NPR learned of the database by a staff member at the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) speaking on the condition of anonymity. Civil rights advocates worry the Trump administration will use the information to locate families who are in the country illegally who also take in the unaccompanied minors. In an email obtained by the outlet, employees of the ORR have been asked to "build a culture of child safety and accountability."
Mellissa Harper, acting director for the ORR, informed staff that "both practice and culture within the sponsor evaluation process" needs to change.
Harper's appointment has concerned immigration advocates, as the mission of the ORR and ICE had traditionally been kept separate. Communication between the two agencies increased during the first Trump administration when the ORR began to share identifying information about unaccompanied children and their potential sponsors with ICE. The Biden administration stopped the practice, yet Harper's appointment sends signals the separation may erode once again. She is the first ICE officer hired to lead the refuge resettlement office.
"The mindset that fraud is justifiable or necessary is intolerable," Harper continued. "I ask each of you to critically examine your role in the [unaccompanied child] process and take responsibility in creating a culture of enhanced accountability and safety measures."
In March of 2024, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra testified before Congress that over 300,000 unaccompanied minors have been released into the U.S. over the past three years rather than returned to their home countries. Democrats and immigration advocates have disputed that figure, claiming the 300,000 figure is misleading and misrepresents government data.
Border czar Tom Homan first proposed the idea of giving ICE access to the database in a January interview with The Washington Post but dismissed the idea that the information would be used to go after illegal immigrants.
"This is about finding the kids," Homan said. "The data won't be used for enforcement work."
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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