A program intended to provide legal status for young migrant children suffering from abuse or neglect was used by the Biden administration to legalize older illegal aliens, many of whom had criminal records, according to a federal report released this week.
The report, published by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), found among the petitioners to the program:
• More than half of the petitioners filing in 2024 were over 18.
• Many entered the U.S. without inspection.
• Many came from countries identified as “posing national security concerns” through lax vetting and screening.
• Some “engaged in age and identity fraud, including falsifying their name, date of birth, and country of citizenship.”
Titled “Criminality, Gangs, and Program Integrity Concerns in Special Immigrant Juvenile Petitions,” the UCICS stated:
The report also identified 853 known or suspected gang members who filed SIJ [Special Immigrant Juvenile] petitions, most of which were approved. More than 600 MS-13 gang members filed SIJ petitions, and more than 500 were approved. MS-13 gang member SIJ petitioners include at least 70 charged with federal racketeering offenses and many others charged with violent crimes in the United States. Other approved gang members include more than 100 known or suspected members of the 18th Street gang; at least three Tren de Aragua gang members; and dozens of Sureños and Norteños gang members.
Sixty percent of the petitioners were male, according to the report. One petitioner cited in the program, arrested for ICE violations in 2024, had suspected ties to the Islamic state commonly known as ISIS.
“Criminal aliens are infiltrating the U.S. through a program meant to protect abused, neglected, or abandoned alien children,” said USCIS Spokesman Matthew J. Tragesser. “This report exposes how the open border lobby and activist judges are exploiting loopholes in the name of aiding helpless children.”
Petitioners older than 18 qualified because they claimed they were raised with one natural parent and claimed neglect, abandonment, lack of financial report, or the other parent was not involved in their life, according to the report.
Misuse of the program didn’t just occur under the Biden administration, Fox News Digital reported. Since 2013, more than 600 MS-13 gang members applied for the special immigrant juvenile visa, according to Fox’s reading of the 35-page report, and more than 500 of them were approved.
According to USCIS:
Congress first established the SIJ program in 1990 and has amended it several times to allow young illegal aliens, whom a juvenile court has determined cannot reunify with one or both parents due to abuse, neglect, or abandonment, to apply for SIJ classification and lawful permanent resident status and have an eventual path to U.S. citizenship. By law, there are no criminal bars or good moral character requirements for SIJ petition approval.
On June 6, USCIS ended the practice of categorically considering deferred action for special immigrant juveniles. The agency added:
“The Trump administration also is exploring further action to mitigate vulnerabilities in the integrity of the SIJ program, address significant national security and public safety concerns, and ensure the SIJ classification remains available for the juveniles it was intended to protect.”
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
