EXCLUSIVE — The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says that thousands of illegal aliens — many of them sex criminals, murderers and known members of brutal gangs — have abused a program meant to protect at-risk minors in order to gain entry into the United States.

A report from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) first obtained by Fox News Digital reveals the extent to which the Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) program is riddled with fraud, and oftentimes exploited by the worst-of-the-worst criminals to gain legal status into the country.

The program recipients are offered legal permanent resident status and eventually naturalization. It was created to offer a safe haven to children of illegal immigrants who have been victims of abuse, neglect or abandonment.

USCIS’ Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate uncovered more than a decade’s worth of abuse of the program from fiscal years 2013 through 2025.

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Among illegal alien entrants who took advantage of the program, at least 120 had arrest records for murder. Another 200 approved SIJ petitioners were convicted of sex offenses, and more than 500 were known or suspected members of the brutal Salvadoran street gang MS-13, which has pervaded communities across the U.S.

High-profile cases of SIJ abuse by criminals include a New York MS-13 leader who pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in connection to eight murders in which he was involved.

Another illegal alien entrant had a long history of gang activity in Massachusetts and allegedly participated in a drive-by shooting that killed two and wounded five others. His petition for SIJ status was approved in 2023, after the deadly shooting occurred.

Prisoners with MS-13 gang tattoos look out of their cell as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem tours the Terrorist Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, on March 26, 2025. (Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images)

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Four MS-13 gang members in Virginia who were approved for the SIJ program were indicted for racketeering in 2023 and 2024 for their alleged participation in multiple murders, including the killing of a 19-year-old woman who was allegedly slain for insulting the gang on social media.

Jessica Vaughan is the Director of Police Studies at the Center for Immigration Studies. She told Fox News Digital that there are few guardrails for ensuring that SIJ applicants are actually facing dire circumstances.

She explained that SIJ is one of the only federal immigration programs that relies on state judges — in this case family court judges — to determine eligibility under federal law.

The program rarely functions as intended, she said.

«Many people are under the impression that the people benefiting from this program are children who don’t have responsible parents when that is not the case,» she said. «The typical scenario is the representative of the applicant comes before a state judge requesting this order of dependency.»

Those representatives are usually attorneys, some of whom make a living processing SIJ petitions. All they have to do is present an affidavit swearing on behalf of the petitioner that they face dire circumstances and have nowhere else to go other than the custody of a neglectful or abusive parent.

Officials said ICE DNA collection led to the positive identification and charges. (John Moore/Getty Images)

«The best thing would be for Congress to tighten up the law on eligibility criteria,» Vaughan said. «Check if [the petitioner] suffered trauma from abuse at the hands of a parent, and is in state custody and has no opportunity to return to their home country.»

She also warned that USCIS, which processes the applications, has no access to juvenile criminal records of petitioners and urged lawmakers to add a provision allowing the agency to check criminal backgrounds.

James Percival, deputy counsel for DHS, said fault lies with state courts who approve the petitions, often without knowing who is being granted SIJ status or even having a hearing to find out.

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«While the SIJ program advances important congressional objectives, it is at significant risk of fraud,» Percival said in a statement on abuse of the program. «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.»

«The failure of state court judges to police the requirements of the SIJ process leads to tangible harm. It allows criminals, gang members, and even suspected terrorists to obtain lawful status while eroding trust and diverting resources away from genuinely vulnerable children.»

The judge who ordered President Donald Trump’s name removed from the Kennedy Center is married to an attorney who has represented a former anti-Trump FBI lawyer, served as counsel to the House Jan. 6 committee and currently represents former President Joe Biden — relationships that Trump blasted as clear conflicts of interest following the ruling.

Trump claimed in a heated Truth Social post that U.S. District Court of D.C. Judge Christopher Cooper’s wife, Amy Jeffress, a former Obama-era Justice Department attorney turned top lawyer of Trump’, encouraged her husband to reject Trump’s Kennedy Center renovation plans and remove his name from the building.

He pointed to Jeffress’ past and current clients, which include some of his most prominent critics, as evidence that she is «a Radical Left Democrat» who is influencing her husband to rule against him.

«Trump Hating Judge wants to keep it open because his wife probably told him to do so!» Trump wrote of Cooper, referring to his rejection of Trump’s plans to close the Kennedy Center for two years for renovations.

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Cooper issued his ruling on May 29, finding that the Kennedy Center board exceeded its legal authority when it voted to rename the institution to include Trump’s name. He ruled that only Congress can change the institution’s name based on the Kennedy Center’s founding statute, which makes clear that the venue is dedicated to President John F. Kennedy.

Trump also alleged Jeffress «doesn’t use the ‘Cooper’ name because they, as a couple, don’t want people to know that she has a Conflict of Interest with an important Judge.»

The president pointed to Jeffress’ professional background, which included serving as a counselor to Attorney General Eric Holder during the Obama administration. Trump and his allies have accused the Obama administration of politicizing intelligence about Russian interference in the 2016 election and promoting allegations of ties between Trump’s campaign and the Kremlin. The FBI named its investigation into Russia’s alleged ties to Trump’s campaign Crossfire Hurricane.

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Deputy Assistant FBI Director Peter Strzok prepares to testify before a joint hearing of the House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform committees at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on July 12, 2018. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Thousands of text messages exchanged between Peter Strzok, a senior investigator on the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane probe, and his then-lover Lisa Page, an FBI lawyer and adviser to Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, became public in 2018. Although Page was not involved in the Russia investigation, the pair’s anti-Trump messages prompted criticism from some who argued the exchanges revealed political bias within the FBI.

Jeffress represented Page during congressional scrutiny of the FBI’s handling of its investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server for official State Department business. Page was not involved in the Clinton email investigation itself.

She later represented Page again in a civil lawsuit against the FBI and the Justice Department, in which she argued that the disclosure of the text messages was improper.

Years later, Jeffress served as outside counsel to the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, advising members on legal issues involving evidence, witness testimony and executive privilege claims. The committee examined the causes of the riot, efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, and Trump’s actions leading up to the attack.

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A sign is displayed on the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts building. (Getty Images)

The president also pointed to Jeffress’ law firm, Hecker Fink LLP, formerly known as Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP, which represented E. Jean Carroll in her civil lawsuit against him.

Since July 2025, Jeffress has served as Biden’s personal attorney and is representing the former president in a lawsuit seeking to block the Justice Department from releasing transcripts and audio recordings of Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur, who investigated Biden’s handling of classified documents.

«Amy is totally wired into the Left System, from her husband down, and it is impossible for me to be treated fairly,» Trump wrote on Truth Social. «He has a total Conflict of Interest, and should be brought up on charges for not revealing these facts.»

Appointed by President Barack Obama, Cooper has served on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C., since 2014.

The criticism facing Cooper is not the first time he has been accused by Trump or his allies of having a potential conflict of interest. Cooper previously drew scrutiny during Special Counsel John Durham’s prosecution of former Clinton campaign-linked attorney Michael Sussmann, with critics arguing that he should have recused himself because his wife, attorney Amy Jeffress, represented former FBI lawyer Lisa Page, a figure tied to the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation.

The Sussmann case stemmed from Durham’s probe into the origins of the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation. Prosecutors alleged that Sussmann falsely told the FBI he was not acting on behalf of any clients when he presented allegations about a purported communications channel between the Trump Organization and Russia’s Alfa Bank during the 2016 election. Cooper rejected Sussmann’s effort to dismiss the case before trial and allowed Durham’s prosecution to proceed, but a jury ultimately acquitted Sussmann in May 2022 after a two-week trial overseen by Cooper.

President Donald Trump speaks during a luncheon with Kennedy Center board members in the East Room of the White House in Washington on March 16, 2026. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

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Fox News Digital reached out to Cooper’s office, Jeffress, a representative for former President Joe Biden, Page, a representative for Garland, and Hecker Fink LLP for comment.

Cooper and Jeffress have been married since 1999. Their wedding was officiated by former Biden Justice Department Attorney General Merrick Garland, who at the time was a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

El Congreso de Guatemala aprobó de urgencia nacional una ampliación de Q120 millones para el Tribunal Supremo Electoral, con el objetivo de fortalecer su operación en 2026 y dejar preparada la organización de las elecciones generales de 2027.

El decreto también asegura que los recursos no ejecutados al cierre de 2026 puedan trasladarse al presupuesto de 2027, para evitar que la planificación electoral pierda financiamiento.

La reforma incorpora un nuevo artículo 140 Bis al Presupuesto General vigente para 2026 y fija una asignación de Q500 millones para elecciones generales, monto que deberá usarse exclusivamente en planificación, organización, preparación, implementación, capacitación, logística, tecnología, comunicación, operación y otras actividades vinculadas con el proceso electoral de 2027, según el texto del decreto.

Ese mismo artículo dispone que los saldos de caja no ejecutados y financieramente disponibles al 31 de diciembre de 2026 se incorporen al presupuesto institucional del TSE en 2027.

El destino de esos fondos queda restringido al financiamiento del evento electoral, de acuerdo con la normativa presupuestaria, contable y financiera aplicable.

La reforma también faculta expresamente al TSE para realizar en 2026 las adquisiciones públicas necesarias para preparar las elecciones de 2027 bajo la modalidad de excepción prevista en el artículo 44, literal f), de la Ley de Contrataciones del Estado.

Esa autorización cubre compras asociadas a logística, tecnología, comunicación, operación y demás actividades directamente ligadas al proceso electoral.

A cambio, el tribunal deberá remitir a la Comisión de Asuntos Electorales del Congreso un informe mensual sobre la programación y ejecución de esas adquisiciones. El reporte tendrá que presentarse dentro de los primeros 15 días posteriores a cada mes cumplido y su entrega, según el decreto, no condicionará ni suspenderá la ejecución de las compras.

La ampliación presupuestaria aprobada por los diputados responde a una petición de los magistrados del TSE para contar con el mismo presupuesto de 2025.

En el desarrollo de la primera sesión extraordinaria, el pleno conoció primero la iniciativa de ley 6773, pero luego alcanzó consensos para dispensarla de dictamen y aprobarla en un único debate.

El Decreto 16-2026 modifica el artículo 140 Ter del Presupuesto General vigente y ordena al Organismo Ejecutivo, por medio del Ministerio de Finanzas Públicas, realizar las modificaciones, reajustes y readecuaciones necesarias para asignar Q80 millones adicionales al tribunal electoral.

La norma indica que esos movimientos deberán formalizarse mediante el acuerdo gubernativo respectivo, conforme a la Ley Orgánica del Presupuesto.

El mismo artículo 140 Ter autoriza al Tribunal Supremo Electoral a priorizar e incorporar a su presupuesto institucional de 2026 un monto de Q40 millones con cargo a sus saldos de caja acumulados al 31 de diciembre de 2025.

El texto fuente señala que esos recursos estarán destinados al fortalecimiento de necesidades institucionales, entre ellas la ciberseguridad.

La suma de ambos componentes explica la ampliación de Q120 millones aprobada por el Congreso: Q80 millones que deberá trasladar el Ejecutivo y Q40 millones que el propio TSE podrá incorporar desde sus saldos acumulados. El texto fuente precisa que los diputados atendieron así la petición de los magistrados para sostener la capacidad operativa del organismo.

El diputado Héctor Julio Estrada, presidente de la comisión de finanzas, explicó que la reforma añade una disposición para que lo no ejecutado en 2026 pueda utilizarse en el presupuesto electoral de 2027. Sobre ese punto, dijo: “Entonces, está poniendo un texto que explica que el recurso que reciban este año, si no lo gastan, lo tendrán para aportar a ese presupuesto 2027”.

Estrada también justificó el uso de compras por excepción para acelerar la preparación del proceso. Según su declaración en el texto fuente, “se les está dejando una, la excepción que le toca la parte de obras electorales para que puedan contratar más ágilmente, porque el proceso electoral ya básicamente está encima y levantar los procesos nos han dicho que nos lleva tiempo”.

El legislador sostuvo además que la redacción replica la fórmula utilizada para el ciclo electoral anterior. En sus palabras, “generalmente es como un artículo que se pone en el mismo presupuesto para el año electoral, que sí fue en el año 2022. Ahora estamos el espejo 2026, digamos, cuatro años más tarde. Estamos haciendo la misma redacción para que funcione como 2022 en 2026”.