ICE to open ‘national call centre’ to help track unaccompanied migrant children for removal

The proposal is part of President Donald Trump’s broader effort to tighten immigration enforcement, particularly targeting unaccompanied migrant children who entered the US without guardians.

Immigrant rights groups sharply criticised the plan, warning that it represents a dangerous escalation in the administration’s efforts to roll back protections for vulnerable minors.

“There are a host of federal laws and programs that purport to protect unaccompanied children, which this administration has been actively attempting to dismantle,” said Michael Lukens, executive director of the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights. “The center will not protect children — it will only make it easier to deport them.”

The plan follows other controversial moves by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which last month, notified legal service providers that it is offering unaccompanied migrant children a one-time $2,500 stipend to voluntarily leave the country.

Earlier this year, ICE issued directives to agents nationwide to begin locating and tracking unaccompanied minors who remain in the US after crossing the border.

Immigration advocates say the latest developments signal a growing emphasis on enforcement over protection, with the government’s resources being redirected toward deportation rather than care and asylum processing.