Fact Check: Reports Misleading on Status of Immigrant Children

Since the government acknowledged last month that the Trump administration had lost track of nearly 1,500 immigrant children, the debate over what that means and who is to blame has roiled Twitter. Here’s a look at the partisan claims and a reality check behind the latest immigration fight:

Thousands of Twitter users spent the weekend asking #WhereAreTheChildren?

The viral hashtag sprang up in response to a now widely shared New York Times article noting that the federal government had been unable to make contact with 1,475 unaccompanied minors awaiting deportation hearings.

First things first: Despite reports to the contrary, those children are not “missing” or “misplaced.”

Immigration experts point out that these children are not in government custody, nor are they supposed to be. Instead, this is a population of minors who arrived at the US border unaccompanied...