More than 12,000 people have been arrested by U.S. immigration authorities after leads from the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), according to internal government data reviewed by Reuters. Since January 2025, ORR has shared more than 460,000 leads with ICE involving unaccompanied migrant children, their sponsors and other household members.
The reporting offers the clearest picture yet of the scale of cooperation between a child welfare agency and immigration enforcement under the Trump administration.
Policy shift
ORR, which houses unaccompanied migrant children, has historically operated separately from immigration enforcement. A 2008 law aimed to ensure children were released quickly to family sponsors without exposing those sponsors to immigration consequences. Former ORR officials say those protections have been reversed. DHS says data sharing helps identify children placed with "unvetted sponsors" and supports investigations involving potential criminal activity.
Why it matters
The policy raises legal and practical questions about using information collected through a child welfare program for immigration enforcement. Critics argue it could discourage families from sponsoring unaccompanied children, potentially extending detention times and complicating family reunification efforts.
Kristina Cooke has more here.
