The Trump administration has drawn up a list of more than 500 unaccompanied migrant children in federal custody for possible fast-track deportation in the coming days, Sen. Ron Wyden warned Thursday, June 25.
The Oregon Democrat sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., stating that he had received credible information about the plan.
CNN reports that the children are held by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement, mostly in long-term foster care.
They have been in ORR custody for at least six months and have no relative or guardian in the United States who can sponsor them.
Sen. Ron Wyden Warns of Planned Deportation of 500 Migrant Children
Wyden, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee that oversees ORR, described the effort as a serious failure that puts the children at risk.
“This is a severe institutional failure that places hundreds of vulnerable children in immediate jeopardy, effectively erasing them from the protection of U.S. oversight and thrusting them back into danger,” he wrote.
The children reportedly arrived at the southern border without parents or guardians. ORR normally shelters them while trying to place them with family members already in the country.
Most of those on the list come from Central America, according to earlier reports citing the senator’s office.
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Wyden said the vast majority of the children have lawyers handling their immigration cases. He warned that moving them out without their attorneys’ involvement would violate due process.
He called on HHS to immediately halt any screening or removal plans and provide detailed information by the end of the day on Friday.
This is not the first time Wyden has raised the alarm. Last year, he issued a similar warning before immigration officials tried to remove a group of Guatemalan children from foster homes and shelters.
Those children were taken in the middle of the night on Labor Day weekend and bused to airfields in Texas. A federal judge stopped the flights at the last minute.
“The new information I obtained leads me to believe that the Department is laying the groundwork for another lawless deportation effort, this time on a greater scale, across more countries of origin,” Wyden wrote in Thursday’s letter.
HHS Denies Any Plan to Fast-Track Child Deportations
HHS Spokesperson Emily Hilliard said there are no plans to target the children for deportation. She pointed to problems from the previous administration.
“Despite this irresponsible fearmongering, there are no plans to target these children,” Hilliard said. “The Trump Administration is working to identify the parents or legal guardians of unaccompanied alien children in our care because ensuring every child is placed with a properly vetted sponsor is our top priority.”
Hilliard blamed the Biden administration for releasing children too quickly without proper checks on sponsors.
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As of May, government figures showed an average of 1,816 unaccompanied children in ORR custody.
Advocates for the children expressed deep concern, with Melissa Adamson, senior attorney at the National Center for Youth Law, saying the administration has a pattern of treating these minors as deportation targets instead of kids who deserve legal process and protection.
“We don’t know how or when this will occur, but we do know that this administration has repeatedly shown it will obliterate these children’s legal safeguards,” Adamson said.
How the Flores Settlement and Trafficking Victims Protection Act Apply
Key laws protecting migrant children, including the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 and the Flores Settlement Agreement, do not allow removal from ORR custody just because no sponsor has been found, Wyden argued in his letter.
ORR’s job is to keep the children safe while their immigration cases move forward. Long-term stays in custody happen when sponsors cannot be located or approved.
The agency has faced criticism from both sides, for holding children too long in some cases and for releasing them too quickly in others.
Wyden’s letter puts pressure on HHS to explain exactly what steps it is taking. He wants to know how the list of 500 children was created, what screening is underway, and what countries they would be sent back to.
