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The U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, publicly blamed the Biden administration for the situation regarding 129,143 unaccompanied children.
The official stated that, under Trump, the authorities have located more than 129,143 minors who —according to her statement— the previous government “lost.”
In a message published on X, Noem also stated that “many” of these children were victims of exploitation, trafficking, and abuse, and promised that her department will continue to intensify efforts “until all the children are found.”
Noem's statement comes amid a that, according to a report cited in the same document, is forcing immigrant families to make extreme decisions to protect their children: handing over legal guardianship of minors to relatives, friends, or activists for fear of being detained and deported.
Donald Trump's second term, which began on January 20, 2025, has been characterized by a "hardline" policy of mass deportations and new restrictions, which has heightened fear in immigrant communities.
In light of this situation, some undocumented parents are choosing legal figures of temporary guardianship to “secure” the future of their children born or raised in the United States.
According to a report by the channel NTN24 in a recent piece about this reality, one of the cases mentioned is that of "Rosa," a 32-year-old Guatemalan migrant in Florida who was left alone to care for her children after the immigration arrest of her husband.
Fearing arrest and that the minors would be left unprotected, she decided to grant guardianship to a human rights activist in Miami, according to the report.
The document also mentions Nora Sandigo, a Nicaraguan activist who is a naturalized U.S. citizen, described as one of the figures that migrant parents turn to in order to formalize guardianships.
According to the text, Sandigo would be a guardian to hundreds of minors and would have legally represented more than 2,000 children over the years.
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