U.S. government loses nearly 1,500 children as administration directs separation of families at border
- Under direction from the Trump Administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers have begun separating children as young as 18 months old from their parents and shipping them to detention facilities at times more than a thousand miles from where their parents are held.
- The separation of children from their families effectively produces “unaccompanied minors,” who are then referred to the Office of Refugee Settlement (ORS) for placement.
- The head of the ORS reported to Congress that the office had lost track of some 1,475 children who had been placed in its charge.
“Testimony of Steven Wagner on the Care and Placement of Unaccompanied Alien Children” (Office of Legislative Affairs and Budget | April 2018)
“Federal Agencies Lost Track of Nearly 1,500 Migrant Children Placed With Sponsors” (The New York Times | April 2018)
“What Separating Migrant Families at the Border Actually Looks Like” (VICE News | May 2018)