GOP seeks explanation as Biden admin loses 85K migrant kids.
Exclusive: Lawmakers Demand Transparency from Biden Administration on Lost Migrant Children
A first-term House Republican is leading 75 other lawmakers in demanding transparency from the Biden administration following a report that the federal government was unable to track 85,000 migrant children whom it released into the United States since 2021, the Washington Examiner has learned.
In a letter sent Wednesday, southeastern Arizona Rep. Juan Ciscomani accused Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of knowingly and recklessly discharging unaccompanied children to adults across the country and doing nothing to find the tens of thousands they had lost touch with.
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“Recent reports have shined a light on the neglect and abuse happening to unaccompanied children — all while HHS and DHS knowingly turned a blind eye,” Ciscomani said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
The letter referenced reports by the New York Times that concluded children were extorted by smugglers to pay off the thousands they owed through forced labor, including sex trafficking. Other children were trafficked against their will and are effectively slaves within the U.S.
In its rush to speed up the intake process and get children out of Border Patrol and then HHS custody, U.S. government workers have been encouraged to find a suitable adult for a child to live with quickly, preferably an immediate family member or friend.
Releases from HHS custody are critical to keeping beds open for new children who have crossed the border, been taken into custody by Border Patrol, and will need to be transferred to HHS, ideally within 48 hours.
In one reported case, a 13-year-old boy was released to a man in the U.S. whom he had met through Facebook, only to be threatened and extorted.
The lawmakers, including House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), demanded additional information from both departments, including:
- How many children were released to adults who were not their legal parents
- How the federal government determines if a specific adult has more than one child
- How sponsors are vetted
- Their process for checking in on the child after being placed
“We are particularly heartbroken to read reports of children contacting HHS after their release to their sponsors in hopes of the agency intervening, with no follow up,” the members of Congress wrote in the letter. “The policies of this administration are enriching the cartels and transnational criminal organizations, who are profiting from the pain, abuse, and exploitation of these children as they smuggle them into the country.”
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