SAN ANTONIO (NewsNation) — Hundreds of gang members and violent criminals exploited a federal visa program designed to protect abused and abandoned migrant children, according to a report released by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The report reveals that at least 853 known or suspected gang members filed petitions under the Special Immigrant Juvenile program between fiscal year 2013 and February 2025. More than 600 of the applicants were identified as MS-13 members, many charged with racketeering and murder.
Immigration officials approved more than 500 of these applications, including petitions from members of violent gangs such as the 18th Street Gang, Sureños and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua.
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The SIJ program was created to provide legal status to children who suffered abuse, abandonment or neglect and cannot reunify with their parents. However, USCIS officials say many applicants entered the country illegally and committed age or identity fraud to qualify…