A new report shows that the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency lost track of 32,000 unaccompanied migrant children within the past five years, report Mike Levine, Lucien Bruggeman, and Laura Romero of ABC News.
The report was sent to Congress yesterday and brings into question the safety of migrant children under the U.S. government’s care. Nearly 450,000 children were transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services between 2019 and 2023. Around 32,000 failed to appear for their immigration court hearings and ICE was "not able to account" for their locations.
Inspector General Joseph Cuffari wrote in the report that, "Without an ability to monitor the location and status of [unaccompanied migrant children], ICE has no assurance [they] are safe from trafficking, exploitation, or forced labor."
In a statement ICE stated that it "is committed to the protection and well-being of children and works closely with [HHS] and other federal partners to fulfill its obligations under law."
Cuffari calls on ICE to take measures that guarantee the safety of unaccompanied migrant children in the country, the ABC team highlights.
Welcome to Wednesday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Clara Villatoro, the Forum’s assistant VP of strategic communications, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Jillian Clark, Dan Gordon, Joanna Taylor and Darika Verdugo. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].
PANAMA DEPORTATIONS — Panama on Tuesday deported 29 Colombians who had entered the country without authorization, Associated Press reports. The U.S.-funded deportation flight is the first to take place as part of a July agreement signed by the U.S. and Panama. The effort aims stemming migration flows through Panama’s Darién Gap, a dangerous migration route used by more than 500,000 people each year.
LESS BUSES — Chicago has not seen the migrant increase amid the Democratic National Convention despite Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) announcing he would be sending buses this week, reports Monica Eng of Axios Chicago. The number of buses with migrants leaving from Texas to main cities across the country has decreased in the past months. In July of 2024, zero migrant buses left Texas, reports NBC Dallas-Fort Worth.
FAITH AND MIGRATION — A new Pew Research Center study finds that the world’s immigrant population has a larger share of Christians, Muslims and Jews than the general population – and nearly half are Christians, Chloë-Arizona Fodor reports for Religion News Service. This "can have a significant impact on the religious composition" in destination countries like the U.S., Fodor notes. The lead researcher Stephanie Kramer emphasized that "immigrants are kind of putting the brakes on secularization" in the United States.
TRUTH — In a blog post by Jessica Galván the World Relief Fund highlights several popular myths surrounding immigration and immigrants in the United States. Addressing issues like crime rates and the economy, the post works to share the truth on immigration through recent data. "Sorting the truth from myth can all be very overwhelming, and the desire to stick our heads in the sand is strong, but it’s not the witness that Jesus calls for his people," writes Galván.
POEMS OF WELCOME — In Chicago, a series of online ads aims to promote welcoming narratives, reports Adriana Cardona-Maguigad of WBEZ. Avery R. Young, a local poet, is featured in the videos performing his poem titled Bozho, which is a word from the Potawatomi indigenous people meant to express welcome. Young says that while he understands the tensions in the city towards the increase of migration, he also wants more dialogue around cultural diversity and inclusiveness.
