Reuters: Trump administration launches new effort to deport unaccompanied migrant children, according to internal memo

(CNN) — Immigration agents in the United States have been directed to track down and deport thousands of migrant children who entered the country without their parents, according to an internal memo obtained by Reuters.

The memo outlines a plan to deport the unaccompanied minors in four phases – starting with a planning phase that began on January 17, Reuters reported. The memo reportedly did not mention a start date for enforcement actions. CNN has reached out to the US Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement for more details.

Children targeted by ICE agents, according to Reuters, would be required to appear in immigration court or be deported if they had orders pending against them.

ICE would then sort children into three priority groups, based on data collected from several government records — “flight risk,” “public safety” and “border security.”

The reported memo also included a section headlined the “Unaccompanied Alien Children Joint Initiative Field Implementation,” which outlines initiatives to ensure children are not victims of human trafficking or other forms of exploitation, Reuters reported.

The news of the internal memo comes days after the Trump administration walked back an order to cut legal services for unaccompanied migrant children.

In a memo obtained by CNN Friday, the US Department of Interior said legal service providers “may resume” their work. It did not provide an explanation for the policy reversal.

Friday’s news came as a relief to groups like the Acacia Center for Justice, a DC-based nonprofit that assists nearly 26,000 children.

“We welcome the news that the stop-work order on Acacia’s Unaccompanied Children Program has been lifted,” Shaina Aber, executive director of the Acacia Center for Justice, said in a statement.

“We will continue working alongside the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that these critical services upholding the basic due process rights of vulnerable children are fully restored and our partners in the legal field – legal lifelines safeguarding the rights and well-being of children seeking safety – can resume their work without future disruption or delay.”

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