By Ted Hesson
WASHINGTON – The top Trump administration official overseeing the care of unaccompanied migrant children was abruptly removed on Tuesday, an email reviewed by Reuters showed.
Mellissa Harper, the acting director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, told staff in the email that she was informed on Tuesday that her detail to the agency had been terminated.
Harper’s message did not explain the decision. Harper and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, ORR’s parent agency, did not respond to requests for comment.
The sudden change in leadership comes as President Donald Trump’s administration directs immigration officers to track down migrant children who entered the United States without their parents, expanding Trump’s mass deportation effort.
Harper, who had held a senior role at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, brought a small team from ICE to the refugee office, two sources familiar with the matter said.
After Trump took office, Harper told staff the agency planned to target smuggling, which could potentially sweep in parents who paid smugglers to bring their children to the United States, one of the sources said.
She also said ORR planned to use DNA tests to establish familial relationships, but it was unclear how often the tests would be used, Reuters reported last month.
During his first term, Trump showed a willingness to cycle through personnel. Top ICE officials, including acting Director Caleb Vitello, have already been reassigned amid pressure to step up enforcement, Reuters reported in February.
(Reporting by Ted Hesson; Additional reporting by Kristina Cooke; Editing by Gerry Doyle)
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