Targeting Sponsors at the Border of Custody
The Trump administration has shifted immigration enforcement tactics by utilizing information from the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to identify and arrest undocumented sponsors attempting to claim custody of unaccompanied migrant minors. This policy change, which allows federal agencies to share data on potential sponsors with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has resulted in the detention of sponsors who come forward to receive children from federal shelters, according to reports from immigration attorneys and legal advocates.
Data Sharing Between Federal Agencies
This marks a departure from previous practices that protected sponsor information from direct immigration enforcement scrutiny. According to documents cited by legal representatives, these agencies now coordinate to locate and apprehend individuals who lack legal status in the United States when they apply for guardianship.
While the administration has not released official figures regarding the total number of sponsors detained under this initiative, local media outlets and legal organizations have documented cases nationwide.
Stays and Deterrence
The increased risk of arrest has led to a significant decline in the number of individuals willing to step forward as sponsors. Legal advocates argue that this trend directly contributes to the long stays for minors in federal custody. During the 2025 fiscal year, the average length of stay for an unaccompanied minor in an ORR facility reached 117 days, which is triple the duration recorded a decade ago.
The National Center for Youth Law and other advocacy groups contend that these prolonged detentions conflict with the federal mandate to place minors in the “least restrictive environment” available. Critics, including immigration attorney Alexa Sendukas, argue that the policy functions as a deterrent that effectively separates families, noting that many sponsors are law-abiding individuals who fear that coming forward will lead to their own deportation.
The Psychological Toll on Minors
The practice of detaining sponsors has raised significant concerns regarding the mental health of children waiting in shelters. Pediatric experts, including Sural Shah, president of the Immigrant Child and Family Health Council of the American Academy of Pediatrics, have warned that extended stays in institutional settings can lead to trauma and a sense of abandonment among minors. In some instances, children have required specialized mental health treatment after their potential guardians were detained by ICE during the sponsorship verification process.
Shifting Enforcement from the Border
The current approach differs in execution from the “zero tolerance” policy of the first Trump administration, which focused on the systematic separation of families at the border. The current strategy focuses on the vetting process for minors already in U.S. custody.
- Historical Context: During the first Trump administration, more than 4,600 children were separated from their parents under the zero-tolerance policy.
- Current Practice: Current enforcement targets the reunification process itself by using the ORR application as a trigger for ICE intervention.
- Outcome: Unlike earlier policies that drew widespread public scrutiny at the border, the current detention of sponsors often occurs in private, which advocates argue results in less public awareness of the ongoing family separations.
As of mid-2025, the government maintains that its vetting processes are necessary to ensure the safety of minors. Conversely, legal representatives for affected families continue to challenge these practices in court, arguing that the bureaucratic hurdles and the threat of arrest are preventing the timely reunification of children with their families.