The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) pushed back on Wednesday against claims that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have been removing children from school.
In a “100 Days of Fighting Fake News” news release from DHS, the agency responded to many narratives that have been reported by various media outlets since President Donald Trump was inaugurated – one of them being that ICE agents are entering elementary schools to conduct immigration enforcement.
“ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) works relentlessly to protect Americans, especially children, who are put in danger by illegal alien activity,” DHS said. “This includes investigations into potential child sex trafficking.”
Addressing incidents at three elementary schools specifically, DHS explained that ICE agents were on campus for reasons not related to “enforcement action.”
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The Department of Homeland Security said ICE and HSI agents seen at elementary schools have not been there to conduct immigration enforcement, but to investigate the well-being of some children. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
Local news outlets in Washington, D.C., reported at the end of March that HSI agents were seen on the campus of HD Cooke Elementary School, prompting concerns over their presence.
Though DHS did not share what the agents were doing, the agency said, “ICE did not conduct any enforcement action at the school. HSI agents were present at the school unrelated to any kind of enforcement action.”
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There were also reports in early April of HSI agents at Russel Elementary School and Lillian Elementary School in Los Angeles.
Agents were “conducting wellness checks on children who arrived unaccompanied at the border” and that the visits “had nothing to do with immigration enforcement,” DHS said.
Homeland Security said it is “leading efforts to conduct welfare checks” on unaccompanied children to “ensure that they are safe and not being exploited, abused, and sex trafficked.”
“Unlike the previous administration, President Trump and Secretary Noem take the responsibility to protect children seriously and will continue to work with federal law enforcement to reunite children with their families,” DHS said.
Homeland Security said it is “leading efforts to conduct welfare checks” on children who arrive at the border unaccompanied to “ensure that they are safe and not being exploited, abused, and sex trafficked.” (Texas DPS)
Nearly 5,000 unaccompanied children have been reunited with a relative or safe guardian in the past 70 days, the agency said, crediting the reunification to Noem and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
