The Trump administration has started conducting welfare checks on unaccompanied minors who crossed the border illegally and were placed with unvetted sponsors.
The efforts are part of a new program launched by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this week called the Unaccompanied Children (UAC) Safety Verification Initiative.
"The primary focus of this initiative is to conduct welfare checks on these children to ensure that they are safe and not being exploited," DHS said in
a statement.
An estimated 450,000 children who illegally entered the country unaccompanied were placed with unvetted sponsors under the Biden administration, DHS said.
Under the Trump administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations special agents have checked in on more than 24,400 unaccompanied children in-person, in the United States, through visits and door knocks, according to DHS.
ICE has been working with state and local law enforcement to rescue unaccompanied minors who have become victims of sex and labor trafficking.
DHS highlighted an example this week of the dangers of poor vetting procedures for sponsors of unaccompanied minors.
Felix Bustillo Diaz, a 49-year-old illegal immigrant from Honduras, and Jose Gerber-Rivera, a 45-year-old Salvadoran national, were arrested in Houston. The pair have been accused of the repeated rape of Bustillo's 12-year old grandniece. The girl was illegally smuggled into the United States by her Honduran mother in 2014 during the Obama administration. Bustillo was the young victim's sponsor.
“The details of this investigation are deeply disturbing and represent some of the most evil criminal behavior in our society,” Montgomery County Sheriff Wesley Doolittle said in a
statement. “While the child is now safe, our mission is far from over. We will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to uncover all details of this investigation and ensure that justice is served.”
Bustillo was granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) by the Biden administration in 2024, according to DHS, despite being an illegal immigrant with a criminal conviction on his record. His TPS has since been terminated.
The victim was reportedly taken from Bustillo's custody by two female Houston area residents, Brenda Garcia, 38, and Tania Garcia, 37, who told her they were rescuing her. They then allegedly zip-tied, beat, malnourished, and forced the child to do physical labor. Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office arrested both women on Oct. 3.
This new initiative to perform welfare checks on vulnerable unaccompanied minors started in the state of Florida on Nov. 10 and will expand to other states with law enforcement partnerships through the
287(g) program, which allows state and local law enforcement to work with ICE to enforce federal immigration operations.
Last month, the Trump administration said it was tightening requirements for the sponsors of unaccompanied illegal immigrant children.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement, which operates under the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, said the goal is to ensure that sponsors are properly vetted.
"Sponsors are adults who are suitable to provide for the child’s physical and mental well-being and have not engaged in any activity that would indicate a potential risk to the child," the Office of Refugee Settlement wrote in an
Oct. 16 update.
All sponsors must pass a background check and ensure the child attends future immigration proceedings. If an immigration judge issues a removal order or voluntary departure order, the sponsor must ensure the child reports to ICE.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
