Trump administration finds 146,000 missing migrant children

Senior Trump administration officials announced on Thursday that federal authorities have located approximately 146,000 unaccompanied migrant children who had been lost after being released to sponsors during the previous administration. Officials said nearly 300,000 such children remain unaccounted for as the government continues its search.

The announcement was made by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche at a joint news conference. They credited a multi-agency effort involving the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Department of Health and Human Services for the recoveries. The officials framed the effort as a response to systemic failures in the program that places unaccompanied minors with sponsors, which they attributed to the prior administration.

A central focus of the announcement was the identification of more than 15,500 cases involving so-called "super-sponsors"—adults who gained custody of more than three unrelated children. Officials stated they are investigating these cases for potential fraud and links to trafficking networks. Blanche announced indictments against three...