Immigration advocates concerned by federal checks of unaccompanied minors

NINA MOINI: Lawyers and advocates in the Twin Cities in southwestern Minnesota say federal agents are making home visits to interview unaccompanied minors. That's according to a recent story by Sahan Journal. Unaccompanied minors are children and teens who moved to the United States without guardians or legal status.

Many are staying with sponsors, who are usually family members, while their cases go through the courts. The Trump administration has told national news organizations that the agencies are making wellness checks to look for signs of exploitation and human trafficking. But immigrant advocates are raising concerns. Joining me to explain is Sahan Journal's immigration reporter, Katelyn Vue. Thanks so much for coming by and sharing your reporting with us, Katelyn.

KATELYN VUE: Yeah. Hi, Nina. Thanks for having me.

NINA MOINI: Katelyn, I'm curious to know when you first started hearing about these visits and what made you want to look into it.

KATELYN VUE: Yeah, so I was just scrolling on Facebook and I saw that a friend had posted about what they've been seeing happening in Worthington by Kivu Immigration Law. It's a lawyer law firm that's located in Worthington that started to post about letting families know in Worthington that these visits were happening.

NINA MOINI: So what are the advocates and the attorneys that you're talking to, what are they concerned about?

KATELYN VUE: Yeah, so the concerns that they have is that these agents from federal agencies like ICE, Customs Enforcement, Border Patrol, Homeland Security, they're showing up in plain clothes and knocking on doors and specifically asking to talk with the minor and saying their names and wanting just to ask certain questions that they're checking if they've been attending school, if they've been attending their court hearings, asking if they feel safe.

And those types of questions, seeing officers in any situation show up at your door is scary. But what they're looking for is asking specifically to be in contact and meet and talk with these minors. And some of their relatives, the minors that they're looking to talk to, some of their relatives have ended up getting arrested at these visits.

NINA MOINI: Oh, tell me more about that. So the Trump administration is saying we're checking on the welfare of these children out of good faith, but you're saying that then it's leading to the discovery of perhaps other people. Tell me a little bit more about that.

KATELYN VUE: Yeah, exactly. So these visits have been happening all over Minnesota. They've seen an increase of them happening in Windom and Worthington, Minnesota. Just in the past-- earlier this month, there's been at least 30 visits to different families happening, and they're looking to talk with these unaccompanied minors.

So the arrests have been happening with family members of these unaccompanied minors, because when they come into the US, they're here without parents. They're here without legal status. And so the federal government tries to connect them with any relatives that they already have in the US to take care of them as they go through the removal proceeding process in immigration court. And they're in charge of taking care of these minors.

The Trump administration has been saying that what they're looking for is checking if there's been any exploitation and checking if these minors have been following the immigration law. But at the same time, relatives are getting picked up during these visits and very scary seeing that happen.

NINA MOINI: There's been reporting on this elsewhere in the country too. Our colleagues at LAist, for example, Los Angeles reported on a case where agencies came to a school. From what I'm hearing from you, it sounds like these have been home visits. Are you hearing about any other locations in Minnesota?

KATELYN VUE: Yeah, so I haven't heard them happening at schools, but yeah, just mostly I think I've only heard them happening at home.

NINA MOINI: What would happen if a child didn't have anywhere to go? Do you know where would they go? Say their relative is taken away. Where would they end up?

KATELYN VUE: Yeah, so these unaccompanied minors, when they come into the US, usually they come alone. They come without parents and they usually are crossing from the US Mexico border. So the [INAUDIBLE] is in charge of connecting these minors with relatives they already have in the US. But they go through a vetting system. The office makes sure that these folks are able to take care of these minors.

But yeah, I think it is a scary question about what ends up happening with these minors, if there's any follow up checks, or if this will require-- if folks from the Trump administration will come back and visit. But I think the relatives that have been arrested, they haven't been the designated caretaker. I think it's just uncles or aunts, other relatives that just happen to be there when the visits happen.

NINA MOINI: Could you tell us a little bit, Katelyn, just about what the federal agencies have been saying about the checks and what their response is to some of these concerns?

KATELYN VUE: Yeah. So they're not very transparent. I'll say that. It's been difficult to try to get responses from the federal government around these wellness checks that have been happening. But they have just continued to say that these wellness checks are intended for checking if there's been any human trafficking or exploitation.

But I've also talked to these lawyers and immigrant advocates in these cities and they've worked with unaccompanied minors for years and know these families very well. And they don't believe that having federal agents show up unannounced and asking these questions will make unaccompanied minors feel comfortable with sharing if any trafficking is happening, if they feel unsafe. Putting families in this position really just feels more like it's pushing them back from feeling like they can trust federal enforcement. So that's just kind of what both sides have been saying.

NINA MOINI: Given that, from the immigration lawyers and others you've talked with, what is their advice, if they had any, for families about should a visit like this occur or just what people's rights are?

KATELYN VUE: Yeah. So immigration lawyers have been saying that these families should be reading up on information to know their rights. A lot of the families that have had these visits happen, they don't open the door. They don't allow agents to come inside their home. They speak to the agents through an open window or a closed door. So that I've seen families try to do to protect themselves during these visits.

But immigration lawyers really advise that these unaccompanied minors have lawyers that they're able to call if a visit like this happens. But they know their lawyer's phone number and they contact them immediately after a visit. So those are just a couple of things that are specific advice that they give.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, Katelyn, thank you so much for coming by Minnesota Now and sharing your reporting with us. Hope you'll join us again as the months go by and keep us up to date on what's going on with these visits. Thank you.

KATELYN VUE: Yeah, of course. Thank you so much.

NINA MOINI: Katelyn Vue is the immigration reporter for Sahan Journal.