Sponsor a migrant child, and ICE may be waiting
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have arrested undocumented relatives who stepped forward to sponsor children in federal shelters, a practice that effectively uses children as bait.
Arrests during sponsorship
The Trump administration has tightened the vetting relatives must clear before taking custody of an undocumented child. Fewer identity documents now qualify, DNA testing is required and a rule that once kept the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) from handing sponsor details to ICE has been rescinded. ICE records show the ORR helped agents track down and arrest one sponsor. So far, at least 100 similar arrests were reported as of March.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has defended the arrests. As per the Texas Tribune, a spokesperson blamed the Biden administration for allowing unaccompanied minors into the country and cited more than a dozen detained sponsors whose criminal records included cases such as homicide and possession of child pornography. However, attorneys counter that their clients broke no laws and satisfied every federal requirement. ICE records show that at least one, a Honduran woman released on bond, has no criminal history.
Why this matters
Asian families are already among those affected. As we reported in December, ICE detained Chinese national Fei Zheng and his 6-year-old son Yuanxin at a scheduled New York City check-in. The child, a newly enrolled first-grader in Astoria, was placed in ORR custody. Stricter sponsorship rules reach immigrant households of every background.
A Stop AAPI Hate report found enforcement actions against Asian and Pacific Islander people climbed from about 2,000 in the first 10 months of 2024 to more than 7,700 in the same stretch of 2025. An AAPI Data/AP-NORC poll also found that close to three in four AAPI adults view the agency negatively, compared with 60% of the general public. The distrust could deepen if relatives come to see sponsorship as a trigger for arrest.
The big picture
The tactic follows Trump’s first term when the zero-tolerance policy split over 4,000 children from their parents at the southern border. However, it is worth noting that the current approach generates far less public attention than the first-term separations, because the arrests unfold out of view. This forces us to question how the months-long shelter stays it produces are impacting children’s mental health as their cases drag on.
ICE has reportedly contracted MVM Inc, a security firm sued in 2024 for its part in the earlier separations, to help locate immigrant children through what the agency calls “wellness checks.” Critics have described this operation as “backdoor family separation.” Children in ORR care averaged 195 days in custody as of February, up from 37 days when Trump returned to office, as we reported. The average stay across fiscal year 2025 ran 117 days, double the first-term figure.
More sponsors could be detained as ICE’s tracking program expands.
This story is part of The Rebel Yellow Newsletter — a bold newsletter from the creators of NextShark, reclaiming our stories and celebrating Asian American voices.
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