I do not know that it is not news of front-page everywhere, but it is almost not paying adequate attention.
President Trump said that 300,000 children went missing under the Biden administration, the bomb #1.
Bombshell #2 is that the Trump administration has now recovered 10,000 of them.
Really amazing claims.
I do not know about you, but it immediately donald me. Trump thought about this tweet, before he was President Trump:
President-election Donald Trump claimed in his Person of the Year interview with Time Magazine this week that the administration of President Biden lost a track of over 300,000 migrant children, many of those who had crossed the border, many of them are in danger or dead. But experts say that he is distorting the facts.
Trump said, “We have 325,000 children here during Democrats – and it was done by Democrat – who is currently slaves, sex slaves or dead,” Trump said. “And what I am doing is trying to know where they are and bring them back to their parents.”
Trump repeated similar claims on the campaign mark, and Republican, including Trump’s “Border Caesar” Tom Homan, resonated similar figures, as they ask to increase border security.
But immigration experts tell CBS News that these claims are misleading and incorrectly presenting government data. Additionally, they say that some unaccounted minors have fallen victim to smuggling or other crimes, the government safely releases most of these children to sponsors – often a family member – while their immigration cases play out.
Potential origin of number
The Republican began to claim that more than 300,000 unacceptable children were “lost” after releasing a report in August, showing that there was no service to 291,000 children to appear in court between immigration and customs enforcement, or ice, financial year 2019 and May 2024.
Additionally, 32,000 unaccounted children failed to show the immigration court dates from the financial year 2019 to 2023.
In particular, about half of the period occurred when Trump was the President. The report did not specify the number of children who missed appearing in court under each administration.
While the DHS report states that children who do not attend their court hearing may be at greater risk of smuggling or exploitation, it is not said that a total of 323,000 referred to children are uncomfortable or missing.
The Trump transition team did not respond to the request of clarification on Trump’s claims.
300,000 “missing” children claim Referring to the statements of President Trump and Republican officials, mainly unpublished migrant children (UACs), who illegally entered the US on the southern border during the Biden administration (2021–2025). These children, often from Central America, were processed by border authorities and then transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for temporary detention before being issued to sponsors in the US.
The “missing” label stems from examples where HHS or immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) lost contact with these children after release, such as when follow-up safety checks (eg, 30-day phone calls) became unanswered or when children failed to appear for the hearing of the immigration court.
This number is an estimate from government reports and has been criticized as exaggerated or deficiency by facts, which note that it is not evidence of widespread kidnapping, but proof of administrative tracking failures.
For example, a 2024 HHS office reports said that for about 85,000 children issued for about 85,000 children during Biden’s tenure, initial contact efforts failed, but later Audit suggested that the total uncontrolled could reach 300,000-320,000 when all UACs were processed through 2024 (500,000 total arrests).
Independent sources emphasize that “missing” does not mean that has disappeared – many are living with sponsors, but are not responding to the government’s outreach for fear of exile or other reasons.
where did they go? Who took them?
Most of these children were not “taken” in the sense of kidnapping, but were officially released to sponsors under the federal policy. Sponsors are usually relatives (eg, parents, aunt/uncle already in the US), but in some cases, they may be distant connections or non-family parents.
After release, he intended to live with these sponsors while waiting for the immigration proceedings. However, concerns arose about exploitation: some ended in unsafe situations, such as child labor (eg, working in meatpacking plants or fields) or human trafficking rings.
The whistleblower reports and the Congress oversight documentation of cases where children were kept without connecting cartel or labor trafficers or with sponsors of fraud.
“Where they went” differs: many people are integrated into American communities, families or schools, but avoid government connectivity. Others can be smuggled for sex or labor, with estimated cases in thousands (not hundreds of thousands).
Trump has claimed that many people are “slaves, sex slaves, or dead”, but it is unrelated to the reports of anecdotes.
Who took them: Mainly approved sponsors approved by HHS, but critics argue that the veating was inadequate, allowing MS -13 gang members, fake relatives, or smugglers to claim children.
The 2025 OIG report confirmed that ICE could not monitor all the released UACs due to lack of resources.
Details on 10,000 recovered
The figure comes from the recent statements of Trump and his border Caesar, Tom Homan, by July 2025, claiming that Trump took over in January 2025, snow and border authorities have “recovered” about 10,000 of these children through targeted operations.
Here the meaning of “recovered” is to find out and often take them into government custody for protection or exile action, not necessarily to be saved from immediate danger. Earlier in 2025, similar claims mentioned 75,000–80,000 “Paa” during Trump’s first term, but 10,000 are specific for efforts after 2010.
Where were they found? Reports suggest that they were located in homes, workplaces or communities across the US, often during ice raids or welfare checks. Examples include agricultural sectors, factory, or urban areas where child labor violation was suspected.
From July 11, 2025, DHS’s statement referred to exploitation and saving 8 children from child labor violations in an operation.
Comprehensive efforts include tracking UACs that missed the court dates or whose sponsors are unspecified.
Who was them? In many cases, they were with unspecified sponsors (eg, family members without legal status) or in the exploiting setup run by smugglers or employers. Some were organized in individuals associated with cartel or forcibly in labor conditions.
Critics noted that Trump’s operations have sometimes separated children from legitimate parents, causing family disruption.
Has the prosecution started? Yes, investigation and prosecution are going on for related crimes such as smuggling and child labor violations. Homan has emphasized the ongoing law enforcement operations against the exploiters, in some cases the lead to the arrest of sponsors or employers.
However, the nuances on number or high-profile cases are limited to public reports by July 11, 2025. Trump’s administration has promised to prioritize it, including cancellation of contract with organizations accused of poor inspection.
Comprehensive efforts tie in anti -trafficking initiatives, but no comprehensive data has been issued on these 10,000 directly linked prosecutions.
Role of biden
The policies of the Biden administration on the UAC emphasized human release to the sponsors to avoid prolonged detention between more than 500,000 arrival from 2021-2024.
Critics, including the Congress’s Republican and the whistleblower, argued for the reversal of the biden of Trump-era sanctions (eg, strict waiting and DNA tests for sponsors and DNA testing), extending placement and insufficient follow-up, tracking issues.
The 2024 Virginia Attorney General Challenge and the OIG reports blamed HHS for not checking a full background on all sponsors, potentially put the children in danger.
Defenders say the inherited system was overwhelmed by the former administration (including Trump’s first term, which had lost 54,000 under the same matrix), and Biden increased the resources for the veting, but faced the legal and capacity limit.
Overall, while directly due to the disappearance of the “cause”, biden’s policies are blamed for prioritizing speed on safety, which contributes to uncontrolled cases.