Feds Serve As ‘Middleman’ In Multi-Billion Dollar Migrant Child Trafficking Operation: HHS Whistleblower

Former HHS Official Accuses U.S. Government of Being a “Middleman” in Multi-Billion Dollar Migrant Trafficking Operation

In a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing, former Health and Human Services (HHS) official-turned-whistleblower Tara Lee Rodas accused the U.S. government of becoming a “middleman” in a multi-billion dollar migrant trafficking operation at the southern border. Rodas alleged that when HHS officials encounter migrant children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, they deliver the minor to a sponsor, most of whom are not legally allowed in the country, only to have them pay off a debt to the cartels by exploiting them into cheap labor, commercial sex, gangs, and more.

The Crisis at the Southern Border

Since President Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president over two years ago, more than 3.5 million illegal immigrants have crossed the southern border. Since January 2021, border patrol agents have encountered over 356,000 unaccompanied minors at the southern border, most of whom authorities released into the U.S. Committee members referenced a recent New York Times report alleging that HHS could not reach more than 85,000 children after they began living with their sponsors. The report further detailed allegations about unaccompanied children unlawfully working in dangerous conditions.

Children as Commodities

Rodas identified some sponsors as members of a transnational criminal organization engaging in human trafficking that view children as commodities and assets used for earning income. “Whether it’s intentional or not, it could be argued that the United States government has become the middleman in a large-scale multi-billion dollar child trafficking operation that is run by bad actors seeking to profit off of the lives of children,” she said.

Discrediting Claims

During the hearing, Democrat subcommittee members attempted to discredit Rodas’ claims and question the accuracy of the New York Times report. Lawmakers used key witness Robert Kerry, former director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the Obama administration, who said during his tenure, 90% of children were reunified with their families while affirming some of those follow-up calls made to the sponsors went unanswered.

A Growing Migrant Child Labor Crisis

Former domestic policy advisor Susan Rice, who stepped down from her role last week, also responded to the report saying her officials showed evidence of a growing migrant child labor crisis. “We were never informed of any kind of systematic problem with child labor or migrant child labor,” she said.

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