A recent report by the Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General has revealed alarming findings regarding the safety and well-being of unaccompanied migrant children (UCs). Over the past five years, more than 32,000 UCs did not appear for immigration court hearings, raising concerns about their whereabouts and vulnerability to human trafficking.
The report highlighted that ICE transferred over 448,000 UCs to HHS from fiscal years 2019 to 2023, but failed to track the location of those who missed court hearings. Additionally, approximately 291,000 UCs have not been marked for removal proceedings due to ICE's failure to schedule court dates and serve notices.