The Trump administration announced Thursday that federal agencies have located approximately 146,000 unaccompanied migrant children who entered the United States during the Biden administration and were later released to sponsors, while nearly 300,000 children remain unaccounted for.
The figures were revealed during a press conference at the Justice Department by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. According to officials, the number of children located has increased dramatically from roughly 22,000 identified last summer.
"We found 146,000 kids so far — 146,000 kids. We still have nearly 300,000 missing," Mullin said during the briefing.
Administration officials stated that more than 500,000 unaccompanied migrant children crossed the southern border during the Biden administration without a parent or legal guardian. After entering the country, the children were transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services and later released to sponsors residing in the United States.
Mullin sharply criticized the previous administration’s handling of the situation, arguing that inadequate oversight and follow-up procedures allowed hundreds of thousands of children to effectively disappear from government tracking systems.
"When we start digging into these cases, and you start hearing the absolute horrific things that took place underneath the Biden administration, either true neglect at best and criminal at worst, to allow 450,000 kids to go missing throughout this country," Mullin said.
The Trump administration has made locating these children a major priority, directing multiple federal agencies to determine their whereabouts and assess whether they are safe. Officials did not provide additional details regarding the methods used to locate the children or specific information about the cases that remain unresolved.
The announcement is likely to intensify scrutiny of border and immigration policies from recent years. Critics have argued that releasing large numbers of unaccompanied minors without adequate tracking created serious risks for vulnerable children. After all, when the government is responsible for placing children into the care of sponsors, most Americans would expect officials to know where those children are afterward.
While nearly 300,000 children remain unaccounted for, administration officials pointed to the location of 146,000 minors as evidence that ongoing enforcement and investigative efforts are producing results. Supporters of the initiative say continued efforts to locate the remaining children are essential to ensuring their safety and restoring accountability to the immigration system.
