FACT CHECK: Post Claims Trump Has Announced He Will Prosecute Biden Administration Over 325,000 Missing Children
A viral image shared on Instagram claims President-elect Donald Trump has purportedly announced a plan to prosecute the Biden administration over 325,000 missing children.
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Verdict: False
The claim is not referenced on Trump’s official website, his TRUTH Social account, or his verified social media accounts. There is no other evidence to support the claim.
Fact Check:
Trump’s children will not receive cabinet positions during his second presidential term, according to NBC News. Thus far, “more distant in-laws” are the only family members who have received cabinet roles, the outlet reported.
The Instagram image, which has garnered over 12,000 views as of writing, claims Trump has purportedly announced a plan to prosecute the Biden administration over 325,000 missing children.
“Breaking News: President Trump has announced a plan to prosecute the Biden administration for the 325,000 kids that went ‘missing’ into Human Trafficking & Sex Slavery during their open border policies,” the post begins.
“God we pray for exposure and justice for these wicked people and for freedom for these children in Jesus’ name. Amen!” it continues.
The claim is false. Check Your Fact found no reference to the claim on Trump’s official website, his TRUTH Social account, or his verified social media accounts. Likewise, neither the White House nor President Joe Biden appears to have publicly commented on the claim.
Additionally, Check Your Fact found no credible news reports to support the claim. If Trump had actually announced a plan to prosecute the Biden administration over 325,000 missing children, multiple media outlets would’ve covered it, yet none have. In fact, the opposite is true. On Dec. 5, PolitiFact debunked the claim. (RELATED: No, Donald Trump Did Not Select Hulk Hogan As Labor Secretary)
The viral Instagram post references a statistic shared via an August 2024 Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Inspector General report. The same report stated that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “could not monitor the location and status of unaccompanied migrant children (UCs) or initiate removal proceedings as needed.”
According to the report, ICE transferred over 448,000 UCs to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) “from fiscal years 2019 to 2023.” During the same time period, 32,000 UCs failed to appear in immigration court, while more than 291,000 UCs did not receive a Notice to Appear (NTA) from ICE as of May 2024, the report indicates.
Check Your Fact previously researched the claim about the missing children when it was mentioned by now-Vice President-Elect J.D. Vance during the 2024 vice presidential debate.
Check Your Fact has contacted a Trump spokesperson for comment.
