Fact check: How many children have been disappeared by ICE agents this year?

1. Summary of the results

The analyses reveal that no specific number of children disappeared by ICE agents in 2025 is available from the provided sources. However, the data exposes a systemic pattern of family separations and lost children spanning multiple years:

• As many as 1,360 children have never been reunited with their parents six years after being separated at the US border, according to Human Rights Watch ^[1]
• Over 5,500 children were separated from their families between 2017 and 2021, with the ACLU estimating that 2,000 children remained unaccounted for by March 2024 ^[2]
• The Department of Homeland Security has lost track of 450,000 unaccompanied migrant children ^[3]

Documented cases of ICE actions affecting children include:

• The abduction of Benjamin Marcelo Guerrero Cruz, a Los Angeles high school student, by masked immigration agents ^[4]
• Three U.S. citizen children swept up by immigration authorities in Louisiana and sent to Central America ^[5]
• A 4-year-old U.S. citizen boy with stage IV kidney cancer deported to Honduras despite his citizenship status ^[6]

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question assumes active "disappearing" by ICE agents in 2025, but the analyses reveal multiple contributing factors and timeframes:

• Historical context is crucial: The family separation crisis primarily occurred during the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy, with many children separated during a pilot program in 2017 before the official policy was announced ^[2]
• ICE has implemented new procedures: The ICE Detained Parents Directive from 2024 includes provisions to identify and track parents during detention and maintain family connections ^[7]
• Different types of separations exist: The data encompasses various scenarios including policy-driven separations, deportations of U.S. citizens, and unaccompanied minors who arrived without parents
• Government accountability efforts: DHS actively debunks false allegations and has established procedures to address family separation issues, suggesting institutional awareness of the problem ^[3]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question contains several problematic assumptions:

• Temporal bias: The question asks specifically about "this year" ^[8], but the analyses show this is primarily a historical issue spanning 2017-2024 with ongoing consequences rather than new disappearances
• Loaded terminology: The use of "disappeared" implies intentional concealment, while the evidence suggests bureaucratic failures, policy consequences, and tracking difficulties rather than deliberate disappearances
• Attribution error: The question attributes all missing children to "ICE agents," but the data shows multiple agencies and circumstances involved, including unaccompanied minors who arrived without parents and were subsequently lost in the system
• Scale misrepresentation: By focusing only on current year numbers, the question minimizes the historical scope of family separations affecting thousands of children over multiple years

The framing suggests active, ongoing "disappearing" when the evidence points to systemic failures in tracking and reunification efforts stemming from past policies, with current efforts focused on remediation rather than new separations.