Today, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Attorney General Pam Bondi expressing serious concern over reports that the Trump administration is offering $2,500 payments to unaccompanied migrant children in exchange for agreeing to “voluntarily” depart the United States.

On top of the legal, ethical, and safety concerns that such financial offers raise, recent litigation briefs revealed that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued internal directives instructing that unaccompanied children who turn 18 be transferred immediately into indefinite adult immigration detention. While litigation paused the administration’s plans to transfer children into adult detention for now, these actions point to the Trump’s administration’s coordinated efforts to coerce unaccompanied children into departing the country without due process.

Additional reporting suggests that the administration may be approaching children as young as 10 years old, threatening to deport their parents, many of whom lack legal representation.

“Offering financial inducements to children, many of whom are fleeing violence, trafficking, or persecution, undermines these protections and risks coercing minors into abandoning legitimate legal claims,” the CHC letter states. “Coercing children into forfeiting their rights is not immigration enforcement. It is state-sanctioned exploitation.”

The CHC is requesting detailed information from all three agencies, including all directives and communications authorizing these policies, data on the children affected, and documentation of safeguards to ensure voluntary participation.

Read the full letter HERE.

About the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC)

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) is 43 members strong. The CHC serves as a forum for the Hispanic Members of Congress to coalesce around a collective legislative agenda. The Caucus is dedicated to voicing and advancing, through the legislative process, issues affecting Hispanics in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. For more information, please visit chc.house.gov.