US administration approved 99% of migrant child sponsor applications in FY2024

An internal memo from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reveals that the Biden administration approved more than 99% of sponsor applications for unaccompanied migrant children during fiscal year 2024. Between 2021 and 2024, the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) processed nearly 500,000 migrant children, but the high approval rate in the final year of the administration suggests a lack of denials for households seeking to sponsor these minors.

The memo indicates that less stringent vetting policies between 2022 and 2024 allowed gaps in the process to be exploited. One documented case involved a 15-year-old girl released to an individual claiming to be her biological brother; the individual was later found to be unrelated and was charged after raping and impregnating the child. This specific case is currently under investigation by the FBI, the Department of Justice, and Homeland Security Investigations.

Additionally, HHS investigators are reviewing a backlog of over 65,000 reports regarding Child Level Events (CLEs), which are incidents flagged to the ORR concerning the health or well-being of migrant children.