General Discussion

Republicans began making claims that more than 300,000 unaccompanied children had been "lost" after the Department of Homeland Security released a report in August which showed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, did not serve notices to appear in court to 291,000 children between fiscal year 2019 and May 2024.

Additionally, 32,000 unaccompanied children failed to show up for immigration court dates from fiscal year 2019 to 2023.

While the DHS report stated that children who do not attend their court hearings can be at a higher risk of being trafficked or exploited, it did not say that the total 323,000 children referenced are unaccounted for or missing.

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"This is not a 'missing kids' problem; it's a 'missing paperwork' problem," said Jonathan Beier, an associate director of research at the Acacia Center for Justice's Unaccompanied Children Program, which helps represent migrant children.