
The Trump administration has launched a sweeping initiative to monitor around 450,000 unaccompanied migrant children who were placed during the Biden era. During this operation the officials will get involved in door to door visits, DNA testing, fingerprinting and extensive background checks on sponsors. All these scrutinizing activities are framed as a child welfare measure by the current administration.
“We are combining through every report, every detail – because protecting children isn’t optional” – HHS (Health and Human Services)
Concerns are rising as they use the federal law enforcement in civilian homes through the agencies like ICE, FBI, and ATF. The human activists and other officials are citing that these operations could lead to risk of trafficking, exploitation, child abuses, mass deportations and family separations. The critics are continuously opposing the campaign that is turning the child protection activity into a tool of surveillance with the data sharing and immigration status. Though it has been said that it is completely safe, the aggressive methods and potential legal consequences have sparked fear and doubt over the intent of the program.
“Now you have a situation where the government is checking on the wellness of children and encountering their undocumented parents and deporting their parents. I don’t know know what about that is good for children” – Mary Miller Flowers, Policy Director of the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights.