Fact check: How do immigrant child removals by ICE and CBP differ from those by other government agencies since 2025?

1. Summary of the results

Based on the available analyses, ICE and CBP's approach to immigrant child removals demonstrates several distinctive characteristics compared to other government agencies. ICE and CBP have rescued at least 14 migrant children from potential exploitation and transferred 10 unaccompanied minors to the Department of Health and Human Services ^[1]. Their operations involve active rescue missions at marijuana grow sites, where they rescued at least 10 migrant children from potential exploitation during operations while arresting approximately 200 illegal aliens and facing gunfire from rioters ^[2].

ICE conducts welfare checks on unaccompanied alien children to assess their well-being and takes individuals into custody if they are in the US illegally, while working to protect children from exploitation and abuse ^[3]. The agency has also implemented a Family Expedited Removal Management (FERM) process for placing family units in expedited removal, which includes the use of Alternatives to Detention (ATD) technology, such as GPS ankle monitors ^[4].

Under recent enforcement policies, record-breaking numbers of deportation orders have been issued to young immigrant children, with these removals often carried out quickly and without adequate legal representation for the children ^[5].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The analyses reveal significant gaps in understanding the full scope of immigrant child removals. The sources do not provide direct comparisons with other government agencies' removal processes since 2025 ^[4], making it difficult to establish clear distinctions.

A critical missing perspective concerns the significant physical, emotional, developmental, and economic repercussions for millions of children affected by immigration enforcement actions ^[6]. This humanitarian viewpoint contrasts sharply with the enforcement-focused narrative presented in the DHS sources.

The analyses also lack information about:

• Specific protocols used by other federal agencies (CPS, HHS, etc.) for child removals
• Comparative statistics on removal rates and outcomes
• Long-term tracking of children processed through different systems
• Due process protections available through different agencies

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question assumes that comprehensive data exists comparing ICE/CBP child removals with other agencies "since 2025," but the sources do not provide information on how immigrant child removals by ICE and CBP differ from those by other government agencies since 2025 ^[6]. This temporal framing may be misleading given the limited comparative data available.

The question's framing also potentially obscures the complexity of the issue by treating all "removals" as equivalent, when the analyses show that ICE and CBP operations involve both rescue operations from exploitation ^{[1] [2]} and enforcement actions that may lack adequate legal representation ^[5]. These represent fundamentally different types of interventions that serve different purposes and benefit different stakeholders.

Department of Homeland Security and immigration enforcement agencies benefit from emphasizing rescue operations and child protection aspects, while immigrant advocacy organizations and legal representatives benefit from highlighting due process concerns and family separation impacts. The lack of neutral, comprehensive comparative data makes it difficult to assess these competing narratives objectively.