The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is warning judges that hundreds of murderers, sex criminals, gang members, and other criminals have exploited a program meant to help illegal alien minors become U.S. citizens.
In a June 3 press release, DHS exposed “rampant fraud” in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) process. Like all processes designed specifically to reward illegal aliens with citizenship, it is very vulnerable to exploitation by criminals.
Reviewing SIJ data for Fiscal Years 2013 through 2025, USCIS found almost 19,000 SIJ petitioners with criminal records. That included 120 arrested for murder, at least 200 approved petitioners with sex offense convictions, and over 600 who were associated with international terrorist organizations and cartels, MS-13, and 18th Street Gang.
Too many Americans assume vaguely that all alien minors are fresh-faced youths dreaming of a bright future in the USA. In reality, countless minors — especially older teens — are already criminals when they arrive in America, while many more become juvenile delinquents once here.
For instance, in May, an unnamed 17-year-old illegal alien was one of the shooters at a Dallas gas station, where one victim was a pregnant woman who lost her baby due to the shooting. And several teenagers were in the illegal alien gang that murdered mother Larisha Sharell Thompson last year.
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To return to the fraud-ridden SIJ process, DHS General Counsel James Percival said, “While the SIJ program advances important congressional objectives, it is at significant risk of fraud. Frequently, there is no underlying child protective services or similar investigation into the child’s circumstances. Instead, aliens who wish to remain in the United States forever can obtain these orders without meaningfully demonstrating that they meet the requirements because judges are unaware of the need to vet the claims.” From the DHS press release:
Some examples include:
The leader of a New York chapter of MS-13, who later pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in connection with his participation in EIGHT murders in New York.
A Trinitarios gang member who participated in a drive-by shooting that killed two people and wounded five others. This individual also participated in previous shootings of rival gang members in Lynn, Massachusetts in February and May of 2023. His SIJ petition was approved in June of 2023, AFTER he had committed these crimes.
Four members of the same MS-13 clique in Virginia, who were indicted in 2023 and 2024 for their participation in racketeering conspiracies involving multiple murders, including the murder of a 19-year-old woman who was shot 16 times for insulting the gang on social media.
Percival emphasized that the courts have to take the blame for not checking the fraud at all. “The failure of state court judges to police the requirements of the SIJ process leads to tangible harm,” he stated. “It allows criminals, gang members, and even suspected terrorists to obtain lawful status while eroding trust and diverting resources away from genuinely vulnerable children.” Criminals are benefiting, and innocent people suffer.
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