En esta noticia
Donald Trump’s migration policy came under scrutiny again after Democratic Senator Ron Wyden revealed the existence of an internal list with more than 500 unaccompanied migrant children who were identified by the United States Government for a possible expulsion.
According to information reported by CNN, the lawmaker denounced a list that includes minors who remain under the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), and who could be part of a new deportation operation.
What does the list of more than 500 immigrant children say?
According to the information released by Wyden, the register is made up of more than 500 unaccompanied migrant minors who have remained in federal Government custody for at least 180 days.
These are children who do not have a parent, relative, or legal guardian in the United States and who, according to the senator, were placed mainly in long-term foster homes managed by ORR providers.
Until May, the ORR was caring for an average of 1,816 unaccompanied minors, most of them from Central American countries.
Will they be deported?
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) stated that “there are no plans to target these children”.
In a letter addressed to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Wyden asked to immediately suspend any evaluation or action related to possible expulsions.
“This is a serious institutional failure that immediately puts hundreds of vulnerable children in danger,” wrote the senator, who argued that using the agency in charge of protecting minors to facilitate deportations represents “an unacceptable escalation of Executive overreach.”
What the Trump Government responded
The agency stated that the Joe Biden Administration accelerated the transfer of migrant children “without proper verification of sponsors,” which, according to the Government, left thousands of minors exposed to abuse and human trafficking.
In that context, it said the Trump administration’s priority is to identify the parents or legal guardians of unaccompanied foreign minors to ensure they are handed over to properly vetted sponsors.
The precedent that worries organizations
Wyden’s complaint recalls an episode that occurred last year, when the Government tried to repatriate dozens of Guatemalan children who remained in federal custody.
On that occasion, 76 minors were even prepared to board return flights, but a federal judge temporarily blocked the measure and the children were returned to custody centers in the United States.
According to documents filed in that court case, some parents said they had never requested the return of their children, despite the Government’s claim that the repatriations had been coordinated with Guatemala.
For Wyden, the new information “lays the groundwork for another deportation effort outside the law,” although this time it would involve minors from different countries of origin and would have a broader scope than last year’s failed attempt.