Remember when Trump ordered that nursing babies be yanked away from their mothers during the first term? Yeah, that was really popular. Now they’re going after the unaccompanied minors who are in the U.S. usually living with relatives:
The Trump administration is directing immigration agents to track down hundreds of thousands of migrant children who entered the United States without their parents, expanding the president’s mass deportation effort, according to an internal memo reviewed by Reuters.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo outlines an unprecedented push to target migrant children who crossed the border illegally as unaccompanied minors. It lays out four phases of implementation, beginning with a planning phase on January 27, though it did not provide a start date for enforcement operations.
More than 600,000 immigrant children have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without a parent or legal guardian since 2019, according to government data, as the number of migrants caught crossing illegally reached record levels.
Tens of thousands have been ordered deported over the same time frame, including more than 31,000 for missing court hearings, immigration court data show.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE did not respond to a request for comment about the memo and the Trump administration’s plans.
The Washington Post poll already shows this stuff isn’t popular and it’s going to get worse:
Americans strongly oppose deporting undocumented immigrants who aren’t criminals (57-39), who arrived as children (70-26) and who have U.S. citizen children (66-30).
70% do not want undocumented kids deported. This is going to be very ugly.
The psycho Trump has tapped as his immigration czar, Tom Homan, appeared at CPAC this weekend and I don’t think he got the memo:
classy stuff from Tom Homan at CPAC pic.twitter.com/2A3BXVJRWS
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 22, 2025
I have faith that the immigration advocates in the country are preparing to document these atrocities and ensure that the American people can see it. Unfortunately they have a lot of practice.
Oh, and by the way, they know this is a dicey policy. Last week Trump’s wrecking crew eliminated legal aid for unaccompanied minors. As NBC news reported, “federal funds allow nonprofit groups to provide lawyers for children, some of whom are too young to speak and are making their way through the immigration system without parents or guardians.” These kids are often described as having” feet that don’t touch the floor,” meaning when they are sitting at the defendant’s table in a courtroom before a judge.
The good news is that the administration rescinded the order on Friday. I haven’t seen any explanation as to why they backed off but I think it’s fair to assume that somebody knows this deportation plan and withdrawal of legal representation for minor kids is a hot potato.