- The refugee office shared four hundred sixty thousand leads with immigration enforcement agents since January twenty twenty-five.
- Over twelve thousand arrests occurred among migrant sponsors and household members under new vetting policies.
- Average custody stays for children jumped to one hundred ninety-four days in June twenty twenty-six.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement has given Immigration and Customs Enforcement more than 460,000 investigative leads since January 2025, prompting more than 12,000 arrests of migrant sponsors and household members, according to internal government data. The arrests followed a policy shift under President Donald Trump that expanded background checks and connected child-placement information to immigration enforcement.
The data involve unaccompanied children, their proposed sponsors and other people living in sponsors’ homes. Some relatives and household members have been arrested during investigations focused on a sponsor.
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“We've seen so many sponsors arrested and collateral arrests with them,” said Alexa Sendukas, managing attorney with the Galveston-Houston Immigrant Representation Project.
Children are also remaining in federal custody much longer. The average stay rose from 30 days in fiscal year 2024 to 194 days in June 2026, according to ORR figures.
The administration says the cooperation helps locate children placed with sponsors who may pose safety risks. The Department of Homeland Security said ORR supplied investigative leads involving “unvetted sponsors,” including some with criminal records.
New checks reach every adult in a sponsor’s household
The administration has expanded the information collected before a child can leave federal care. Potential sponsors must undergo fingerprinting, and the research describes requirements for fingerprinting all adults in a prospective sponsor’s household.
HHS Acting Assistant Secretary Steven Wagner described the policy on May 31, 2026.
“We’re going to more thoroughly vet sponsors. With DHS’ cooperation we will conduct a fingerprint-based background check on every sponsor.”
The revised screening also includes mandatory DNA testing for sponsors and children to verify biological relationships. Sponsors face a narrower list of acceptable identity documents, while federal agencies have expanded access to criminal-history databases.
USCIS spokesperson Zach Kahler said April 29, 2026, that the agency had broadened its security checks for immigration-related applicants, including sponsors.
“USCIS has implemented new security checks to strengthen the vetting and screening of applicants through expanded access to federal criminal databases. USCIS will always prioritize the safety of the American people.”
USCIS began using Enhanced Criminal History Record Information on April 27, 2026, for fingerprint-based checks submitted to the FBI’s Next Generation Identification system. The change also includes a review of pending cases in the system’s backlog.
| Screening change | What it requires |
|---|---|
| Household fingerprints | All adults in a prospective sponsor’s household undergo fingerprinting |
| Relationship verification | Sponsors and children undergo mandatory DNA testing |
| Identity review | Sponsors face a narrowed list of acceptable identity documents |
| Criminal-history checks | Fingerprints use Enhanced Criminal History Record Information through the FBI’s Next Generation Identification system |
A 2008 reunification rule now faces a different enforcement model
The William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 directed the government to place children in the “least restrictive setting” possible. The policy was intended to support reunification while limiting the risk that immigration officers would target people who came forward to care for children.
Jen Smyers, a former ORR deputy director, said those protections have been “completely reversed.” Critics say the government has “weaponizes a child welfare program for the purposes of more deportations.”
The earlier approach generally kept child-welfare information from immigration enforcement. The current system instead allows information gathered during sponsor screening to generate investigative leads for ICE.
DHS defended the arrangement as a way to locate children placed with unsafe sponsors. ORR also rejected any suggestion that it directly apprehends children while defending its expanded screening process.
“ORR plays no role in the apprehension of children. [Our] increased vetting is meant to shield children from harm.”
The agency declined to comment on specific enforcement cases. Its statement framed the checks as a child-safety measure, while DHS described the leads as part of efforts to find children placed with people who had not been adequately screened.
Arrests can reach beyond the person named in a lead
The enforcement consequences extend beyond the proposed sponsor. Immigration officers investigating one person may arrest other undocumented people living in the same home, advocates said.
Those arrests can remove the relatives who would otherwise provide a placement option. Legal advocates report that fear of immigration enforcement is discouraging qualified close relatives from seeking custody of children.
That reluctance has coincided with longer stays in federal shelters. A child who once spent an average of 30 days in federal custody in fiscal year 2024 remained there for an average of 194 days in June 2026.
The figures connect two parts of the policy: more intensive screening before release and a greater risk for relatives who agree to sponsor a child. A longer vetting process can delay placement, while the prospect of arrest can discourage a relative from applying at all.
Lawsuits challenge the expanded sponsorship rules
Groups of children and advocacy organizations filed lawsuits in early 2026 against interim final rules that disqualified some relatives from sponsorship and expanded biometric collection. One case identified in the research is Venez. Ass'n of Mass v. DHS.
The legal challenges focus on the rules governing who may sponsor a child and how much biometric information the government can collect. The policy changes introduced in 2025 and 2026 now operate alongside the data-sharing arrangement that generated the 460,000 leads.
The administration’s stated rationale remains child protection. DHS says the leads help locate children placed with sponsors who may have criminal records, and ORR says its increased vetting is intended to shield children from harm.
Advocates point to the resulting arrests and custody delays. Smyers described the reversal in safeguards, while Sendukas said sponsors and other household members have faced collateral arrests.
The data-sharing program continues as the government reviews pending fingerprint cases through the FBI system. By July 2026, the cooperation had produced more than 12,000 arrests since January 2025, while the average custody stay had reached 194 days in June.
