DHS Refutes ICE Immigration Raids at Elementary Schools, Says Agents Conducted Welfare Checks

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is shutting down rumors that ICE agents are sweeping into elementary schools and hauling kids away.

In a news release celebrating their "100 Days of Fighting Fake News," DHS addressed the swirl of stories about ICE agents supposedly conducting immigration enforcement at schools since President Trump's inauguration. The agency insists that ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is focused on protecting children from threats like child sex trafficking, not rounding up students.

DHS specifically called out three elementary schools where HSI agents were spotted on campus. According to the agency, the agents were there for reasons unrelated to "enforcement action"—basically, not there to detain anyone over immigration status.

One incident that set off alarm bells happened in late March at HD Cooke Elementary School in Washington, D.C., after HSI agents were seen on campus. DHS said that while they can’t get into what the agents were doing, it definitely wasn’t an enforcement action.

Similar sightings at Russel Elementary and Lillian Elementary in Los Angeles led to even more speculation, but DHS clarified that agents were "conducting wellness checks on children who arrived unaccompanied at the border"—nothing to do with immigration enforcement. The goal, DHS says, is to make sure these kids aren’t being exploited or trafficked. Honestly, if only all government visits were actually about the kids’ well-being.

The agency also took a moment to contrast its approach with previous administrations, saying President Trump and Secretary Noem are taking child protection seriously and working to reunite children with their families. In the last 70 days, nearly 5,000 unaccompanied kids have been reunited with a relative or guardian, thanks to Secretary Noem and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.—a stat that actually deserves a gold star sticker.