HHS memo says Biden-era ORR approved over 99% of migrant child sponsor applications in FY2024

A memo from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), released on 1 October 2026, says the Biden administration approved more than 99% of sponsor applications for unaccompanied migrant children in fiscal year 2024. 1 2 The memo states that ORR denied less than 1% of sponsorship applications, which it says suggests that individuals were able to sponsor children with little deterrence. 1 The New York Post reports that HHS processed almost half a million migrant children between 2021 and 2024; Just the News puts the number referred to ORR by the Department of Homeland Security in that period at 479,000. 1 2

HHS's Office of the General Counsel and ORR identified six types of fraud: false documentation of identity, manipulated photographs, misrepresented or unverifiable addresses, fingerprint-related fraud, failure to disclose household members, and misrepresentation of age by the child. 2 According to the Post's account of the memo, about 85% of sponsorship applicants were determined to have engaged in intentional document fraud when HHS's Office of General Counsel reviewed nearly 1,700 Child Level Events between 1 October 2023 and 31 October 2024, and ORR's tracking puts the average rate of such fraud at about 77% of reported Child Level Events. 1 The memo says that from 2022 to 2024 "less stringent policies" let potential and actual sponsors exploit gaps in ORR's vetting process. 1

In one case, a 15-year-old girl was released in fall 2023 to a man claiming to be her brother who was unrelated and allegedly raped and impregnated her; Just the News says no fingerprints or DNA were used to verify the relationship, and the memo says the sponsor has been charged by the state and is under investigation by federal agencies. 1 2 The memo also describes two deaths in 2024: a 17-year-old found dead in a car in October after release to an alleged stepsister, and a teenager who died in August after being given marijuana, having been released to a mother with gang tattoos. It describes a February 2025 case in which ORR approved release of a nine-year-old girl to a home with concerning conditions, and her current status is unknown. 1 HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement that the Biden administration "failed in its most basic responsibility" and "prioritized speed over scrutiny," and that under President Trump HHS is restoring rigorous oversight and verifying who takes custody of the children. 2 1

Under the Trump administration, HHS investigators have been reviewing a backlog of more than 65,000 reports of incidents affecting children's wellbeing, and the Post notes a 2024 DHS Inspector General report that lost contact with 291,000 migrant children and found another 32,000 believed missing after not appearing at immigration court hearings. 1