Trump administration offers unaccompanied migrant children $2,500 to voluntarily leave US, letter shows

* Trump administration offers $2,500 to unaccompanied children to leave the country voluntarily * Move draws criticisms from advocates * Administration has faced legal setbacks in attempts to swiftly deport unaccompanied children By Christian Martinez LOS ANGELES, Oct 3 (Reuters) – The Trump administration is offering unaccompanied migrant children $2,500 to leave the U.S. voluntarily, according to a letter seen by Reuters that was sent to migrant shelters. Officials at the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed a monetary offer was being made but did not specify an amount. The move is the latest financial offer made by the DHS under President Donald Trump aimed at encouraging voluntary deportations. In June, the State Department moved $250 million to DHS for voluntary deportations with the administration offering a $1,000 stipend to migrants who "self deported." KIDS NEED PROTECTION NOT COERCION, CRITIC SAYS According to the letter sent to shelters on Friday by the DHS Office of Refugee Resettlement, the department will provide a "one-time resettlement support stipend of $2,500" to unaccompanied children 14 or older. An ICE official said the offer was first being made to 17-year-olds. Minors from Mexico are not eligible for the program but children who had already volunteered to leave the U.S. as of Friday would be covered, the letter says. Wendy Young, president of Kids in Need of Defense, which provides legal services and support to unaccompanied children, called the move "a cruel tactic" that undermined "laws that guarantee" a process to determine if a child is eligible for U.S. protection. "Unaccompanied children seeking safety in the United States deserve our protection rather than being coerced into agreeing to return back to the very conditions that placed their lives and safety at risk," Young said in a statement. According to federal law, migrant children who arrive at U.S. borders without a parent or legal guardian are classified as unaccompanied and sent to federal government-run shelters until they can be placed with a family member or in foster care. More than 2,100 unaccompanied children were in the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services as of Thursday, according to department data. HHS communications director Andrew Nixon said in a statement that the program "gives UACs a choice and allows them to make an informed decision about their future." Any payment would be provided after an immigration judge approved the request and the child arrived in their country of origin, Nixon said. The administration's efforts to swiftly deport unaccompanied children have faced legal challenges. Last month, a federal judge ordered that the administration refrain from deporting unaccompanied Guatemalan migrant children with active immigration cases while a legal challenge continued. More than 600,000 migrant children have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without a parent or legal guardian since 2019, according to government data. (Reporting by Kristina Cooke, Ted Hesson; Writing by Christian Martinez; Editing by William Mallard)

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