Trump Child Refugee Agency Shares Data With Immigration Enforcers
The move is expected to keep children who cross the US border alone in government custody for longer.
Child migrants who enter the US alone may be held by the government longer after a policy change.
Photographer: Allison Dinner / AFP via Getty Images
The Trump administration has resumed sharing sensitive information about people who come forward to sponsor unaccompanied migrant children with immigration authorities, a move that is expected to keep children in government custody for longer, according to two people familiar with the policy.
The information is drawn from case files maintained by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, a federal office tasked with the care and placement of children who enter the US without their parents. It’s being shared with the Department of Homeland Security, which is in charge of immigration enforcement, and includes potential sponsors’ names, addresses, immigration status and other personal information, according to the people, who requested anonymity to discuss internal policies and plans.