Trump admin tracks down 146K migrant kids who went missing under Biden: DHS chief
WASHINGTON, DC: Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced on Thursday, June 11, that the Trump administration has successfully located 146,000 migrant children who were left unaccounted for during the tenure of the previous administration.
According to Secretary Mullin, a total of 450,000 children went missing under former President Joe Biden, with nearly 300,000 of those minors remaining unlocated today.
Markwayne Mullin calls for unified action on child welfare
The effort to track these individuals has uncovered disturbing accounts of severe harm that officials are now working to address.
During the press conference, Secretary Mullin highlighted the severity of the circumstances surrounding these missing youths.
Mullin stated that they are now investigating reports where some of these kids claimed that they were mistreated.
Addressing the broader political landscape, he added, “I don’t care who you are. I don’t care if you have kids. You don’t have kids. I don’t care if you’re a liberal, you’re an independent, you’re a Democrat. You’re Republican. If you can’t stand for law enforcement to go find these kids, who are you? Who are you?”
Federal search efforts faced with local pushback
The search for these children is being significantly hampered by the lack of cooperation from local jurisdictions.
Secretary Mullin expressed deep frustration with the current obstacles, noting that “do you know where we’re finding the most of them: sanctuary cities.”
Major metropolitan hubs, including New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles, have consistently refused to align their local policies with federal immigration enforcement.
New efforts underway to rectify previous administrative failures
The scale of the missing children crisis was originally brought to light by an August 2024 report from the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General.
The report detailed how, between fiscal years 2019 and 2023, over 448,000 unaccompanied minors passed through Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody before being transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services for placement with sponsors.
Of that group, 291,000 were never issued notices to appear in federal immigration court, and 32,000 failed to attend their scheduled hearings.
The Trump administration is now prioritizing the investigation of thousands of leads related to children potentially forced into illegal labor or exploited by dangerous groups due to lax vetting and an "assembly line" approach to sponsor placement that characterized the previous administration's policies.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche supported these efforts during the conference, announcing the prosecution of three Guatemalan nationals in Ohio who allegedly submitted fraudulent information to pose as sponsors for financial gain.
