The Trump administration is using migrant children held by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement to lure parents and relatives into immigration detention, whether or not they have a criminal record.
In one example, a dad went to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in New Mexico, thinking he was going for an interview about reuniting with his children. Instead, agents put him in chains and sent him to a detention center. His 15-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter have now been in a federal shelter in Texas for more than a year.
I spoke by phone with the father while he was at an immigration detention center in El Paso, Texas, where he was held for several months. He told me he was tricked. “They used my children to grab me.”
What happened to him isn’t isolated. My colleagues Renuka Rayasam and Amanda Seitz and I found that federal law enforcement agencies are coordinating with the resettlement office to detain and deport immigrant caregivers. Attorneys say many, like this dad, are being arrested while trying to reunite with their kids.
HHS, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Justice Department did not respond to questions about caregiver arrests.
Over two decades ago, Congress gave the HHS resettlement office responsibility for caring for children without legal status who arrive at the U.S. border alone or without a legal guardian, often fleeing violence, abuse, or persecution in their home countries.
The move was intended to protect some of the most vulnerable immigrants. Lawmakers expected children’s well-being to be prioritized over immigration enforcement.
But since President Donald Trump took office, that priority has shifted. As a result, children are languishing for months in government shelters and foster care, while their relatives are detained and deported. Some children are losing hope.
In statements shared through attorneys, the daughter in Texas said she no longer wants to be around others and spends most of the time in her room. The son described having panic attacks and feeling that he’s missing out on life, whether it’s the opportunities he longs for — to learn English, to study science — or watching basketball with his family.
Government shelters often lack sufficient resources, research shows, and social workers say lengthy stays in these facilities can result in additional trauma.
Their dad was released on bond this month after a federal judge said officials had unlawfully detained him.
He will have to redo much of the process to reunite with his children.
“This operation is designed to force parents to make an impossible choice between reuniting with their children and seeking safety,” said one of the dad’s attorneys, Chiqui Sanchez Kennedy of the Galveston-Houston Immigrant Representation Project, a nonprofit that helps low-income immigrants.