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Original Date Announced
September 21, 2018Press reports that in congressional testimony, a senior ICE official states that the agency has arrested 41 sponsors of unaccompanied children (UACs) who had sought to pick the children up from ORR custody. Advocates believe that the arrests stem from a new information sharing agreement between ICE and ORR that requires the government to check the criminal and immigration history of any sponsor applicant and all other adults in the household. [ID #357]
Report: ICE arresting sponsors of UACsEffective Date
September 21, 2018Biden Administration Action: Revoked/Replaced
April 30, 20242024.04.30 Unaccompanied Children Program Foundational Rule (45 C.F.R. Part 410)
This Biden administration policy revokes the Trump-era policy identified in this entry.
On April 30, 2024, the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration of Children and Families, enacts a final rule regulating key aspects of the placement, care, and services provided to unaccompanied children in custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). The final rule implements the 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement.
Section 410.1201 of the final rule addresses sponsors to whom ORR releases an unaccompanied child. The rule mandates that ORR "shall not collect information on immigration status of potential sponsors for law enforcement or immigration enforcement related purposes. ORR shall not share any immigration status information relating to potential sponsors with any law enforcement or immigration enforcement related entity at any time."
View DocumentCurrent Status
Not in effectMost Recent Action
April 30, 2024 Action: Revoked/Replaced 2024.04.30 Unaccompanied Children Program Foundational Rule (45 C.F.R. Part 410)April 30, 2024Acted on by Biden Administration
Original Trump Policy Status
Status: ReportedTrump Administration Action: Change in PracticeAssociated or Derivative Policies
- April 13, 2018 DHS agrees that HHS will share information about unaccompanied children, sponsors, and household members
- April 13, 2018 ICE checking criminal backgrounds of each adult in the household of unaccompanied minors' sponsors
- May 15, 2018 HHS proposes expanded background checks and information sharing for sponsors of unaccompanied children
- December 19, 2018 HHS rolls back fingerprint requirements for adults living with migrant children
Pre Trump-Era Policies
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June 30, 2017
Previously, the government had only checked the criminal and immigration history of the individual applying to be a sponsor and not of every adult also residing in the household of the sponsor. While the share of unaccompanied children being released to parents was nearly 60% from 2014 to 2015, it dropped to 41% in fiscal year 2018 as of April 2018.
Policy re: Release of Unaccompanied Minors to Sponsors (June 30, 2017)
Commentary
The Implications of the Reinterpretation of the Flores Settlement Agreement for Border Security and Illegal Immigration Incentives
Senate hearing
Go to article on hsgac.senate.gov