The ongoing discussion surrounding immigration policy tends to overlook the extreme human toll taken by the crisis unfolding at our nation’s southern face. It’s undeniable that the resolutions developed in the capital have a tangible ability to instigate real-world distress. The human consequences of these decisions were starkly highlighted in a recent study conducted by the DHS Office of Inspector General. The upsetting findings, published last month, noted that close to 450,000 unaccompanied minor children, taken into DHS custody from FY 2019, were handed over to the Department of Health and Human Services. Sadly, more than 291,000 of these children never received Notices to Appear. The other 32,000 that did receive notices subsequently failed to appear at their designated immigration hearing. A shocking number, greater than 90,000, were found in FY 2021 alone.
The Office of Inspector General issued a grave conclusion to their findings, indicating that unaccompanied minor children who fail to appear in court are prone to a heightened risk of trafficking, exploitation, and forced labor. Instances like these contribute to a growing list of unmet responsibilities when it comes to caring for the over 512,000 minors that have encountered CBP at the southern border throughout the Biden administration. The horrors these children face extend beyond mere hardship; they are exposed to physical abuse, sexual assault, and are often exploited for the creation of pseudo families to secure the swift discharge of family units.
It’s important to note that this administration largely refrains from detaining these so-called families, irrespective of any suspicions CBP agents may hold regarding their legitimacy. Currently, DNA verification only occurs when the migrant adult proclaiming to be the child’s guardian provides consent. Unfortunately, these aspects of torment do not halt once these minors reach the United States. Following their processing, DHS hands these minors over to HHS to be placed with ‘sponsors’ across the nation. However, a plethora of reports from government monitors and insiders alike depict a deeply troubled system.
For instance, an HHS OIG report released in September 2022 revealed that early 2021 witnessed the removal of ‘basic safety measures’ from the sponsor screening process with a view to speed up the children’s release. In another report issued in February 2024, HHS OIG revealed that a review of case files ranging from March to April 2021 found that 16% lacked any proof that the mandatory safety checks for sponsors had been conducted. Further troubling evidence surfaced as a result of an independent grand jury investing the administration’s policies. One poignant instance highlighted a federal employee being instructed by an ORR lawyer to cease enquiries about potentially harmful sponsors on the basis that doing so induced delay.
This troubling situation can lead to misconceptions that these vulnerable children are being turned over to sponsors who have been thoroughly screened by HHS. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth, and the repercussions are devastating. During a testimony before the House Homeland Security Committee, an immigration expert revealed the horrific situations these children often find themselves in, such as living with older men in obvious exploitative circumstances. Others have been given to labor traffickers and gang members, while some are forced into domestic servitude and other abuses.
The grand jury investigation uncovered an appalling case where over 100 kids were sent to a single address in Austin, Texas. Other addresses received 44 and 25 children, respectively. These egregious situations have led to a staggering increase in child victims of forced labor, a reality recognized by the Department of Labor in the past year. According to the New York Times, warning signs of the ballooning child labor force were ignored or overlooked by the Biden administration.
The House Homeland Security Committee has vocalized these concerns time and again in the past years and maintains its scrutiny into the handling of the situation by the Biden administration. As of now, the Committee remains in anticipation of the numerous requested documents which contain information on matters such as the number of unaccompanied children cases that were given to sponsors currently under investigation, charged, or previously convicted of offenses against children.
Despite no evidence pointing towards the intention of mass exploitation as the goal of the Biden administration’s border policies, it’s essential to measure these policies on their outcomes rather than their intentions. The current administration has consecutively failed to safeguard these helpless children, essentially backing a system that encourages human trafficking and abuse. The latest report by the DHS OIG further illuminates this as one of the most shocking humanitarian crisis of our era.
Continuing to enable such a system is a blatant disregard for the value of human life. The ongoing investigation by my committee incorporates dialogues with sources, professionals enforcing law and order, and experts in the sphere of anti-human trafficking who are openly unraveling the reality of this system. Our commitment to root out the truth is undeterred, alongside our efforts to terminate policies that put these children’s lives on the line.