A DHS investigation showed that more than 323,000 illegal immigrant children were unaccounted for in the United States.
U.S. authorities have located more than 145,000 illegal immigrant children who were previously unaccounted for under the Biden administration, border czar Tom Homan said on Jan. 30.
Homan said the findings came as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the FBI, and the Health and Human Services Department’s Office of Refugee Resettlement continue efforts to locate “more than 300,000 unaccompanied alien children” whom he said had been “turned over to unvetted sponsors, lost track of, and weren’t looking forward” under the Biden administration.
“Through their outstanding efforts, they have so far been able to locate more than 145,000,” the border czar said on X. Homan did not provide details on the status or condition of the children.
“President [Donald] Trump promised that we would find these children, and under his strong leadership and with his unwavering support, the patriots at these, and other partner, agencies have been—and will continue to do—just that,” he added.
The investigation followed an August 2024 report by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Inspector General, which showed that more than 323,000 illegal immigrant children were unaccounted for in the United States.
Of those, more than 291,000 unaccompanied migrant children had not been served court notices by ICE as of May 2024, while another 32,000 were served notices to appear in court but failed to do so, according to the report.
The Trump administration has launched efforts to find and track these children after taking office in January last year. In December, federal agencies located more than 129,143 illegal immigrant children, according to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
“Too many of these children were exploited, trafficked, and abused. We will continue to ramp up efforts and will not stop until every last child is found,” Noem said on Dec. 19, 2025.
DHS said last November that ICE launched an initiative with state and local law enforcement to conduct welfare checks on 450,000 illegal immigrant children who were placed with unvetted sponsors under the Biden administration. The initiative aims to ensure children’s safety and protect them from exploitation, the agency said.
