Federal authorities have arrested 442 individuals who served as sponsors for unaccompanied migrant children released into the United States during the Biden administration, according to ICE data reported by NewsNation’s Ali Bradley. The arrests involve allegations of child abuse and other criminal activities, raising renewed concerns about how the Biden administration handled the mass influx of unaccompanied minors at the southern border.
Under President Joe Biden’s border policies, approximately 450,000 illegal migrant children were allowed into the country without adult supervision. Many were placed with sponsors, some of whom are now facing serious criminal charges.
In contrast, the Trump administration has announced it has successfully located more than 13,000 of the children who entered during the previous administration and were later reported missing or unaccounted for. President Donald Trump pledged to continue efforts to locate and ensure the safety of these children, distinguishing his administration’s approach from what he has described as gross negligence under Biden.
White House advisor Stephen Miller spoke about the situation during an interview with Sean Hannity, claiming that “the true number of missing children that Joe Biden trafficked into the country… is 450,000, not 320,000.” Miller accused Democrats of being complicit in human trafficking and praised Trump’s efforts to clean up the crisis.
The Department of Homeland Security has begun offering minors between ages 14 and 17 the option of voluntary self-deportation, a legal process that includes ICE transportation within 72 hours. DHS officials emphasized this policy as a continuation of practices rooted in the Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2022.
DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin stated, “The safety of children… is [the] top priority of the Trump Administration,” pointing to the failures under Biden where nearly 300,000 minors remain unaccounted for.
