The Trump administration’s reversal of intentionally harsh vetting procedures for people seeking to sponsor detained migrant children could see more kids released from a Texas prison camp, but in light of an unleashed Immigration and Customs Enforcement, families could still have reason to worry.
Officials announced this week that all adults living in the homes of prospective sponsors would no longer be fingerprinted, a backtrack from Trump policy. But Texas Monthly has confirmed that officials will continue to share the fingerprints of sponsors with ICE, meaning that while the risk of a sponsor’s home being affected by deportation may be reduced, it’s not completely gone if the sponsors themselves are undocumented.
2,700 children are now jailed at Tornillo, Texas. Facilities all across the nation are nearing capacity, and it’s the administration’s roadblocking of sponsors that is to blame. “The latest news from HHS is a positive step toward beginning to unravel its misguided fingerprinting policy, which has prolonged the trauma thousands of children in its custody face,” said Congress member Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut. “Still, the heart of this harmful policy is still in place.”
ICE said it has arrested 170 potential sponsors who have stepped forward within the past few months, with nearly 110 of them having no criminal record at all. No one is arguing that safety measures shouldn’t be taken to make sure that kids are going to safe homes. In fact, officials need to follow their own advice and vet Tornillo employees, which they are not doing. It’s ICE’s cruel and senseless arrests—which are leading to kids being detained for longer—that need to stop.
“HHS should focus on providing the best care for these children, not be used as an immigration enforcement tool by fingerprinting sponsors when there are no red flags and then sharing that information with ICE,” DeLauro continued. “This process endangers children and will perpetuate their detention in HHS shelters.”