Biden administration approves over 99% of migrant child sponsor applications, sparking abuse concerns

In fiscal year 2024, the Department of Health and Human Services processed nearly half a million unaccompanied migrant children and approved more than 99% of sponsor applications, leaving fewer than one percent denied. The Office of Refugee Resettlement’s memo warned that the high acceptance rate followed a period of relaxed policies that allowed fraudulent sponsors to exploit gaps in vetting, with about 85% of reviewed cases flagged for intentional document fraud.

Specific cases highlighted severe outcomes: a 15-year-old girl was released to a sponsor who later raped and impregnated her, a 17-year-old male was found dead with another adult in a car, and a teenage boy died after being given multiple marijuana joints by unrelated men. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. condemned the administration for prioritizing speed over safety, asserting that the prior administration is restoring rigorous oversight. The memo also referenced a 2024 DHS Inspector General report that lost contact with 291,000 migrant children presumed to be in domestic sponsor care.