More than 600 Children ‘Recycled’ by Migrant Smugglers At Border: ICE

More than 600 children were “recycled” through the border over the last year, including some who were carried across eight times, by a different person each time, looking to exploit lax policies to gain a foothold in the U.S., a top ICE official told Congress on Wednesday.

And those are only cases that were detected, officials said.

The recycled children are one of the more disturbing aspects of illegal border flow over the last 12 months, which set records for the number of children and families who snuck into the U.S.

The families were drawn by a lax policy, imposed by a federal court, that gives adults a quick release into communities as long as they brought a son or daughter with them.

The result was massive levels of fraud, with adults renting or outright buying unrelated children in order to present themselves as a family, authorities said. In some cases it was a one-off, but in other instances children were “recycled” across the border multiple times, said Derek N. Benner, acting deputy director at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“We’ve identified over 600 children that have been recycled,” he said.

‘Scourge’ of sexual predators, violent criminals being removed from Minneapolis streets despite backlash

Democrat insider rips Mamdani bidet hopes for Gracie Mansion, cites Trump White House bathroom reno hypocrisy

Somali City Council Member Resigns Days After Being Sworn in Over Criminal Charges

Oregon city reverses vote, removes convicted murderer from police review board after backlash

Woke Christian Artist Releases Song Tying J6 to Woodstock

WATCH: Ellen Greenberg’s ex-fiancé dodges questions as feds reopen death case of teacher with 23 stab wounds

Latin Kings Gang Member Stole FBI Weapons During Left-Wing Anti-ICE Riot in Minneapolis

Philadelphia’s threat to prosecute ICE could trigger landmark court fight over authority, experts warn

White House torches Newsom as ‘inauthentic slimeball’ after California governor walks back ICE rhetoric

Family Member of Alleged Charlie Kirk Assassin’s Trans Lover Speaks Out

MAHA emerges as GOP 2026 election bright spot — with one major caveat

Shapiro’s White House trip to talk electricity prices could help him in 2026 and 2028

Virginia Democrats move to seize redistricting power, opening door to 4 new left-leaning seats

Crypto industry spent tens of millions influencing now-delayed cryptocurrency regulations

Federal judge restricts ICE agents amid ongoing Minneapolis area protests

That means that once they came across with an unrelated adult, they were then separated by the smuggling operation and taken back south across the border to be brought back again with a new adult, he said.

“Some of them had indicated they’ve made the trip as many as eight times, with separate, unrelated adults each time,” he added.

Mark Morgan, acting commissioner at Customs and Border Protection, recounted one case where they caught a Honduran man who’d “bought a child” for $80, then attempted to cross into the U.S.

“Why did he do it? Because the loopholes in our system told him — and the smugglers made sure he understood — ‘You grab a child, that’s your passport into the United States,’” Mr. Morgan told the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

Mr. Benner detailed another case where a Guatemalan man showed up at the border with a girl he claimed to be his daughter. Authorities didn’t immediately sniff out the fake relationship and under the lax U.S. policies toward families the man and girl were released.

The girl was “repeatedly” sexually abused and beaten, until she was finally rescued, Mr. Benner said.

ICE began in the spring to use DNA testing to try to weed out fraudulent families at the border.

That involved taking people who presented as families, but where suspicions were raised, and testing DNA to try to confirm the purported relationship. At the height, Mr. Benner said, about a quarter of the cases tested came back as fake families.

Cartels began to adjust their strategies and the rate is now 13% to 15%, he said.