Carlos arrived at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in New Mexico believing he was one step closer to reuniting with his children. His 14-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter had been in a federal shelter in Texas for nearly a year after crossing the border to be with him, reports BritPanorama.
“I feel like I’m suffocating inside this shelter, trapped with no way out,” Carlos’ son expressed during a recent conversation, according to one of the teens’ attorneys. “Every day, the same routine. Every day, feeling stuck. It makes me feel hopeless and terrified.”
During their daily video calls, Carlos, who had temporary protected status, urged his children to be patient and trust the process. Federal officials had vetted him before granting custody and assured Carlos that his case was complete. He remained optimistic about soon being reunited with his children, who, like him, sought refuge from political violence in Venezuela.
An immigration officer called Carlos on a Friday, requesting his presence at an ICE office the following Monday for a meeting regarding the reunification. Upon arrival, Carlos was pressured to sign documents he claimed he did not understand. Upon refusal, officers stripped him of his clothing, seized his ID and belongings, and restrained him by the neck, waist, and legs.
“They tricked me,” Carlos recounted in a phone call from an immigration detention center in El Paso, Texas, where he remained for several months. “They used my children to grab me,” he added.
A recent report from KFF Health News, which investigated the family’s case, reviewed court documents, conversed with the family’s immigration attorneys, and translated statements from Carlos’ children from Spanish. Carlos is a pseudonym used to protect his identity due to concerns from his attorneys that speaking out could harm his immigration case or further delay his family reunion.
Using children to arrest parents
Since 2003, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement has overseen immigrant children under 18 who arrive in the country unaccompanied, frequently fleeing violence, abuse, or trafficking. As of February, the office was housing over 2,300 children in shelters or with foster families across the United States and is mandated to promptly release them to vetted caregivers, typically parents or relatives already present in the country.
This responsibility was assigned to the health agency over two decades ago to prioritize unaccompanied children’s well-being, separating their care from immigration enforcement priorities.
However, the current administration under Donald Trump is reportedly using the migrant children held by the resettlement office to lure parents like Carlos into custody, regardless of any criminal record. Investigations have revealed that the resettlement office, which is currently led by a former ICE official, collaborates with the Department of Homeland Security to apprehend individuals seeking custody of their children.
Arrest documents indicate that Homeland Security Investigations, the agency’s division typically focused on organized crime and trafficking, interviews caregivers and arrests them if they are found to be in the country illegally. Data sharing and collaboration with immigration enforcement were limited prior to Trump’s return to the presidency, which led to some caregivers being denied custody based solely on their immigration status. These restrictions were lifted last year.
It remains uncertain how many caregivers have been arrested under such pretenses. Reports indicate over 100 arrests connected to individuals attempting to reclaim their children from detention, but this figure has not been independently verified by federal agencies.
Since February, the Departments of Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, and Justice have not publicly commented on caregiver arrests. Prior to stepping down last month, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated the administration’s commitment to preventing children from being released to unsuitable caregivers. Questions related to immigration enforcement were directed to DHS by an HHS spokesperson.
In tandem, the resettlement office has implemented new regulations that complicate the process for caregivers attempting to gain custody of unaccompanied children. These measures include a narrower range of accepted documents, mandatory fingerprint-based background checks for every adult in a household, and in-person appointments to verify identification, potentially in the presence of ICE agents. Agency representatives assert these requirements are intended to safeguard children from traffickers and potential harm.
As of January, it was reported that at least 300 children previously placed with vetted sponsors were detained, prompting their caregivers to reapply with the resettlement agency. Advocacy groups have since filed a lawsuit alleging these actions constitute a more subtle form of family separation.
Reverse separation
Dulce, a Guatemalan mother residing in Virginia, revealed that her 8-year-old son had been taken to a government shelter following a traffic stop last summer while visiting relatives in another state.
Initially, Dulce anticipated a swift reunion, having previously met government sponsorship requirements in 2024. However, the resettlement agency required her to repeat the process and resubmit documents, extending the timeline to eight months before they were reunited.
Due to potential consequences from speaking out, Dulce is using a pseudonym. Her fear stems from concerns that expressing her situation might result in her deportation.
When instructed to attend an ICE office interview to confirm her identification, she refused, fearing detention due to her lack of legal status. She believes ICE agents visited her home during this period.
“I stopped going home,” Dulce noted, explaining that she stayed with friends for days.
Despite living only 45 minutes away, Dulce could visit her son merely twice a month.
Most unaccompanied children typically enter government custody after being detained at the border. However, after a decline in border crossings in 2024, many children are now taken to government shelters during immigration raids or traffic stops, even while living with relatives who have been vetted by the resettlement agency.
Releases have significantly slowed, with children in resettlement agency custody averaging more than half a year in government shelters as of February, compared to just one month in 2024.
When children are finally released, it often results from attorneys filing federal lawsuits challenging their detention as unconstitutional.
Authorities released Dulce’s son to her in February after his legal representatives filed such a petition. Dulce expressed relief at their reunion but remains anxious that ICE may return to their home.
Immigrants at risk
During Trump’s initial term, the administration faced criticism for losing track of children released from custody. President Biden later encountered scrutiny regarding how his administration processed the surge of unaccompanied children peaking in 2021, when approximately 22,000 minors were under the resettlement office’s care. While most placements were legitimate, some went to caregivers who had not cleared necessary safety checks, exposing children to potential exploitation.
The Trump administration claims it is ensuring the welfare of these children, with the Justice Department prosecuting cases involving child trafficking. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, set to depart her role at the month’s end, recently highlighted a multi-agency effort that has located 145,000 unaccompanied children placed with caregivers during Biden’s administration.
Internal HHS reports obtained by KFF Health News reveal that nearly 11,800 migrant children and close to 500 caregivers were arrested as of January 29. Of these, only 125 children and 55 caregivers faced arrests for alleged criminal conduct, suggesting most were apprehended for immigration violations.
DHS referred inquiries about these statistics back to HHS, which did not respond to requests for comment. However, Michelle Brané, a former DHS official from the Biden administration, indicated that the figures illustrate a trend focusing more on detaining and deporting migrants rather than safeguarding children.
Case on hold
Carlos fled Venezuela in 2022 due to death threats and was granted temporary protected status under the Biden administration. This protection was later revoked for most Venezuelans by the subsequent administration.
In January 2025, shortly before Trump began his second term, Carlos’ children crossed the border from Mexico, turned themselves in to border authorities, and were placed in the custody of the resettlement agency. Carlos dedicated months to reuniting with them, stating he was their only parent since their mother left when they were young.
Officials visited his home twice and deemed him suitable to care for them, based on court documents. Carlos passed DNA tests confirming his paternity, and records show he has no criminal history. In July, Carlos was informed that his reunification case had been finalized and sent for approval, but it was subsequently halted without explanation.
Before his arrest, Carlos traveled 14 hours each way to see his children for just one hour during visits. In detention, he managed to speak with them every two weeks during monitored phone calls.
While Carlos tries to maintain hope, the situation remains daunting.
According to ICE arrest documents submitted in his court case, Carlos was apprehended under an initiative named Operation Guardian Trace, designed to detain potential caregivers in the country illegally and recommend their deportation.
“This operation is designed to force parents to make an impossible choice
