Fact check: How many missing children have been found by ICE agents total?

1. Summary of the results

Based on the available analyses, there is no comprehensive total number of missing children found by ICE agents. The sources provide only fragmented data from specific operations:

• 70 missing children were located and recovered by HSI El Paso in a multi-agency operation in West Texas ^[1]
• 123 victims of child sexual exploitation were identified during Operation Sunflower, with 44 children directly rescued from their abusers ^[2]
• More than 60 kids were rescued in Operation Dragon Eye, though it's unclear if ICE agents specifically conducted these rescues ^[3]
• The Trump Administration reported locating 13,000 children who came across the border unaccompanied ^[4]
• At least 14 migrant children were rescued from potential exploitation and forced labor during marijuana grow site operations ^[5]

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The question assumes a significant number of children are actually "missing" in a dangerous sense, but this framing may be misleading. The analyses reveal important context about what "missing" actually means:

• Over 32,000 unaccompanied children failed to appear for immigration court hearings from fiscal years 2019 to 2023, and more than 291,000 were not served court notices to initiate removal proceedings ^[6]
• Experts argue that claims of "300,000 missing migrant children" represent a "bureaucratic paperwork issue" rather than genuinely missing children ^{[7] [8]}
• Most unaccompanied minors are safely released to vetted sponsors, contradicting narratives that suggest widespread endangerment ^[8]

The question also doesn't distinguish between different types of ICE operations - some focus on child trafficking and sexual exploitation while others address immigration enforcement, creating confusion about what constitutes a "found" child.

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The question contains an implicit assumption that may perpetuate misinformation. By asking for a "total" number of missing children found by ICE, it suggests:

• That there is a large, trackable population of genuinely "missing" children that ICE is actively locating
• That bureaucratic tracking issues represent actual child endangerment cases

The framing benefits those who want to amplify concerns about border security and child trafficking for political purposes. As the analyses show, the widely cited figure of over 300,000 "missing" children is misleading and represents a "missing paperwork problem" rather than children in danger ^{[7] [8]}. This distinction is crucial because conflating administrative tracking failures with actual missing persons cases can distort public understanding of immigration policy and child welfare issues.