ICE is showing up to interview parents hoping to reunite with their children who entered US alone

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — President Donald Trump's administration has started requiring parents looking to reunite with their children who crossed into the U.S. alone to show up for interviews where immigration officers may question them, according to a policy memo obtained by The Associated Press.

Legal advocacy groups say the shift has led to the arrest of some parents, while their children remain in U.S. custody. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not confirm that or answer questions about the July 9 directive, instead referring in a statement to the Biden administration's struggles to properly vet and monitor homes where children were placed.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement, which is part of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department and which takes custody of children who cross the border without a parent or legal guardian, issued the directive. The agency said the goal is to ensure that sponsors — usually a parent or guardian — are properly vetted.

The memo is among several steps the Trump administration has taken involving children who came to the U.S. alone. Over the Labor Day weekend it attempted to remove Guatemalan children who were living in shelters or with foster care families.

The July 9 memo regarding sponsors, first reported by CNN, said they must now appear in person for identification verification. Previously, sponsors could submit identity documents online. The directive also says “federal law enforcement agencies may be present to meet their own mission objectives, which may include interviewing sponsors.”

Neha Desai, managing director of human rights at the National Center for Youth Law, said the change provides U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement a “built-in opportunity” to arrest parents — something she said has already happened.

Mary Miller Flowers, director of policy and legislative affairs for the Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights, said she knew of a case in which immigration officers arrested the father of a child under the age of 12 who had shown up for an identification check. "As a result, mom is terrified of coming forward. And so, this child is stuck,” Miller Flowers said.

Desai also said the interviews are unlikely to produce information authorities don’t already have. Vetting already included home studies and background checks done by Office of Refugee Resettlement staff, not immigration enforcement.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement said it communicates “clearly and proactively” with parents, telling them they may be interviewed by ICE or other law enforcement officials. It said parents can decline to be interviewed by ICE and that refusal won't influence decisions about whether their children will be released to them.

“The goal is to ensure that every child is released to a stable and safe environment and fully vetted sponsors by ensuring the potential sponsor is the same individual submitting supporting documentation, including valid ID,” it said in a statement.

However, Desai is aware of a situation in which a sponsor was not notified and only able to decline after pushing back.

“We know of sponsors who are deeply, deeply fearful because of this interview, but some are still willing to go forward given their determination to get their children out of custody,” she said.

Tricia McLaughlin, a Homeland Security spokesperson, issued a statement that did not address any arrests or mention the specific changes. Instead, she said the department is looking to protect children who were released under President Joe Biden's administration.

A federal watchdog report released last year addressed the Biden's administration struggles during an increase in migrant children arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border in 2021. The Trump administration has dispatched Homeland Security and FBI agents to visit the children.

Another recent change allows ICE to interview children while they are at government-run shelters. That took effect July 2, according to a separate directive that the Office of Refugee Resettlement sent to shelters, also obtained by the AP.

The agency said it provides legal counsel to children and that its staff does not participate in interviews with law enforcement. Child legal advocates say they get as little as one-hour notice of the interviews, and that the children often don't understand the purpose of the interview or are misled by officers.

“If we don’t understand what the interview is for or where the information is going, are we really consenting to this process?” said Miller Flowers, with the Young Center.

Jennifer Podkul, chief of global policy at Kids in Need of Defense, said some officers lack language skills, trauma-informed interviewing techniques and knowledge of the reunification process.

“It seems like it’s designed just to cast the net wider on immigration enforcement against adults,” she said.

The July changes are among the steps the Trump administration has taken to ramp up vetting of parents seeking to reunite with children.

The administration has required fingerprinting from sponsors and any adults living in the home where children are released. It has also required identification or proof of income that only those legally present in the U.S. could acquire, as well as introducing DNA testing and home visits by immigration officers.

Children have been spending more time in government-run shelters under increased vetting. The average length of stay for those released was 171 days in July, down from a peak of 217 days in April but well above 37 days in January, when Trump took office.

About 2,000 unaccompanied children were in government custody in July.

Shaina Aber, an executive director of the Acacia Center for Justice analyzing child custody data, attributes the longer custody times to the policy changes.

“The agency’s mission has been conflated and entangled,” she added. “It seems ORR’s mission has been somewhat compromised in that they are now doing more on the immigration enforcement side, and they’re not an immigration enforcement entity.”

A woman asks a migrant deported from the United States if he is able to identify her relative, a migrant, outside La Aurora International Airport, in Guatemala City, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Relatives of unaccompanied minors deported from the United States await updates outside La Aurora International Airport, in Guatemala City, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Relatives of unaccompanied minors deported from the United States await updates outside La Aurora International Airport, in Guatemala City, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

People wait for loved ones from Guatemala deported from the United States outside La Aurora International Airport, in Guatemala City, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

FILE - Federal agents escort a woman and her children after they were detained following an appearance at immigration court, Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, file)

FILE - A woman from Peru and her children are detained and escorted to a bus by federal agents following an appearance at immigration court, Monday, June 23, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, file)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins' resilience carried them to a surprise playoff berth.

Sidney Crosby and company will need to rely on it, maybe a lot of it, if they want their postseason appearance to be more than a token cameo.

It took the Philadelphia Flyers roughly 48 hours to take all the good vibes Pittsburgh generated during a resurgent season and make them a distant memory. Winning a pair of games on the road and shutting down one of the top offenses in the NHL will do that.

The Penguins were visibly frustrated on the ice and notably chastened off it following a 3-0 loss in Game 2 on Monday night that dropped them in a significant hole when the series shifts east to Philadelphia on Wednesday.

“I think we’ve been in some tough spots all year,” said Crosby, who was held without a point for the second straight game. "We’ve always responded really well to adversity. It seems like it’s brought out the best in all of us.”

Pittsburgh's best will likely be required against the young Flyers, who have had no trouble carrying their searing finishing kick to the regular season into the playoffs. While Philadelphia didn't put on a defensive clinic as it did for most of Game 1, when the Penguins were limited to just 17 shots, the Flyers largely limited Pittsburgh to firing away from the outside.

The Penguins generated 27 shots on goal and generated another 48 that either missed the net or were blocked. The ones that found their way to Dan Vladar were turned away. The ones that didn't were mostly long blasts from the outside that missed the mark.

“Everything’s harder, it’s supposed to be harder, it’s the NHL playoffs," Penguins coach Dan Muse said. "You’re going to have to do those little things that can give you an extra inch, finding a shot lane a little bit quicker, working to get to the net front a little bit faster.”

Pittsburgh's power play, which was ranked a respectable seventh during the regular season, is now 0 for 7 through two games. The Penguins were actually outscored when they were up a man on Monday. Philadelphia's Garnet Hathaway produced a short-handed goal late in the second to give the Flyers a 2-0 lead, though teammate Owen Tippett did the hard work, fending off two yellow-clad opponents to set Hathaway up.

“We don’t really get in sync yet,” Pittsburgh defenseman Erik Karlsson said. "You would think that we would dictate what we want to do out there, but they’re doing a good job and we’re not. That’s the bottom line.”

And time is running out. The Penguins have fallen behind 2-0 in a series 15 times and only rallied to win a third of them, the last in the 2009 Stanley Cup finals against Detroit.

Those Pittsburgh teams had featured a young Crosby and longtime running mate Evgeni Malkin still in the nascent stages of their careers. They're both nearing 40 — Malkin will get there in July — and while they remain a threat every time they hop over the boards, the franchise icons and their teammates have been outskated and outplayed over the course of 120 minutes against a team that has 10 players making their playoff debut in this series.

“We’ve played 82 games,” Karlsson said. “We know how to play hockey in here. I think maybe we’re overthinking things a little too much. We’re not playing on our instincts.”

And as a result, the Penguins are playing from behind.

This isn't the first time in the last seven months that Pittsburgh seems to have been on the verge of letting a promising season get away. The Penguins have navigated extended absences by both Crosby and Malkin and occasionally shaky play in net, among other things, on their way to a playoff spot that seemed like a longshot when training camp began.

The league's third-highest-scoring team found a way to respond each time. On Tuesday, they'll hop on a plane and make the short flight across the state hoping it's not the final road trip of the year.

“I think that getting on the road and having a situation like this,” Crosby said, “hopefully brings out the best in us again.”

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Philadelphia Flyers' Owen Tippett (74) checks Pittsburgh Penguins' Erik Karlsson, right, into the boards during the first period of Game 2 in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs in Pittsburgh, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Dan Muse, center top, stands behind his bench during the third period of Game 2 in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs against the Philadelphia Flyers in Pittsburgh, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby (87) is defended by Philadelphia Flyers' Travis Sanheim (6) during the second period of Game 1 in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs in Pittsburgh, Saturday, April 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby (87) checks Philadelphia Flyers' Rasmus Ristolainen (55) in front of Penguins goalie Stuart Skinner, center bottom, during the first period of Game 2 in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs in Pittsburgh, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)