Hundreds of gang members, murderers, and sex offenders exploited a vulnerability in America’s immigration system WASHINGTON – Today U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services published a report identifying significant national security and integrity vulnerabilities in the Special Immigrant Juvenile program. These national security vulnerabilities provided a path to lawful permanent residence and eventually citizenship to criminal aliens, gang members, and known or suspected terrorists. The “Criminality, Gangs, and Program Integrity Concerns in Special Immigrant Juvenile Petitions” report reviews over 300,000 aliens’ SIJ petitions filed from the beginning of fiscal year 2013 through February 2025. According to the report: - More than half of SIJ petitioners filing in FY 2024 were over age 18;
- Many entered the United States without inspection;
- Many came from countries identified as posing national security concerns, demonstrating the lax screening and vetting and anti-fraud policies of the Biden Administration; and
- Some SIJ petitioners engaged in age and identity fraud, including falsifying their name, date of birth, and country of citizenship.
The report also identified 853 known or suspected gang members who filed SIJ 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. “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.” On June 6, USCIS rescinded the policy of categorically considering deferred action for special immigrant juveniles. 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. 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. For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit uscis.gov or follow us on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn. | 
