ICE to Deport Unaccompanied Migrant Children

The Trump administration has instructed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to locate and deport unaccompanied migrant children who entered the U.S. without their parents, according to an internal memo. This initiative marks a significant shift in ICE's focus from adults with criminal records to minors, prioritizing children as 'flight risks', and aims to prevent human trafficking and exploitation. Since 2019, over 600,000 children have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border alone, with tens of thousands already ordered for deportation. ICE plans to implement this directive in four phases, though a start date for enforcement has not been specified. The policy echoes the controversial 'zero tolerance' policy from Trump's first term, which led to the separation of families and was halted in 2018 following widespread backlash. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE have not commented on the memo or the deportation plan.