ICE's Operation “Freaky Friday” targets unaccompanied minors
On Friday, October 3, 2025, ICE launched Operation “Freaky Friday” which targets unaccompanied minors aged fourteen years old and older. Initial reports received by the American Immigration Lawyers Association confirmed that, under the operation:
Children detained and released will be sent a “threat” letter from ICE threatening indefinite detention and immediate transfer to ICE upon age-out if they do not waive jurisdiction under the TVPRA and withdraw applications for relief, including withdrawing their request for admission with EOIR.
Children will be offered $2,500 to return to their countries of origin.
If children do not comply with the “offer”, the letter indicates their parents/family living in the US will be arrested.
ICE plans to detain all age-outs, and they anticipate legal challenges.
It is possible that the age threshold for this threat letter may be lowered to youth 10 years old and older.
ICE will first target detained children but will also target children released from custody.
AILA Texas Chapter. View the alert shared by AILA here.