The Trump administration is reportedly ready to send hundreds of unaccompanied children from Guatemala back to their home country.
CNN reported that more than 600 unaccompanied children from the Central American nation who arrived at the U.S. border and were allowed entry have been identified and could soon be sent back under a pilot project with Guatemalan officials.
CNN described reviewing the plans with multiple unnamed sources who are familiar with the effort and who have described the project as unprecedented.
There are a lot of unanswered questions about the care and protection of unaccompanied minor children brought to the U.S. during the administration of former President Joe Biden.
A Department of Homeland Security Inspector General report, released in March, said that from 2019 through 2023, 448,000 unaccompanied migrant children were released by the government to sponsors, and 31,000 of those could not be tracked due to a lack of adequate information.
The report said that through January 2025, ICE had not served a notice to appear before an immigration court to more than 233,000 of those children or sponsors.
One of the conclusions of the report was that there was no assurance that unaccompanied migrant children brought to the U.S. “are safe from trafficking, exploitation, forced labor, or involvement in criminal activities that may pose a risk to local communities.”
CNN reported that the plan to send Guatemalan children back to their home country has referenced the transfers as repatriations as opposed to deportations. That would imply that the transfers are voluntary. But some children’s advocates are skeptical due to questions about whether children would have an understanding of what is happening and that most don’t have attorneys.
Newsmax has not received a response from the White House to a request for information about the reported transfers.
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