Surrounded by law enforcement supporters at a campaign event in Georgia on Thursday, Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio argued that Vice President Kamala Harris’ border policies have left “thousands of innocent children” vulnerable to sexual exploitation and human trafficking.
Vance appeared to be referring to a Department of Homeland Security inspector general report released earlier this week.
According to a Department of Homeland Security oversight report, as of May 2024, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had not sent notices to appear to more than 291,000 unaccompanied migrant children, “so they do not yet have immigration court dates scheduled.” The audit found that between fiscal years 2019 and 2023, ICE removed more than 448,000 unaccompanied migrant children who crossed the border illegally.
but, ICE couldn’t explain According to the DHS Office of Inspector General, ICE reported the location of all unaccompanied migrant children who were released from DHS and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) custody during that period and did not appear as scheduled in immigration court. The report adds that ICE reported that more than 32,000 unaccompanied minor children did not appear for their immigration court hearings between fiscal years 2019 and 2023.
President Obama omits dire DHS report on missing migrants in speech about securing border without separating children from their parents
Senator J.D. Vance speaks at a campaign rally in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on August 20, 2024. (Andy Manis/Getty Images)
On the same day that Harris accepted the Democratic presidential nomination, Vance campaigned with law enforcement officials in Valdosta, Georgia, and then took questions from reporters.
One noted that Wednesday’s speech at the Democratic National Convention focused on “the human side of immigration” and included a speech by a DACA recipient.
“As the husband of an immigrant daughter, what do you think about President Trump’s deportation program? Specifically, the detention of families and children?” the reporter asked.
Vance made it clear that he was “marrying the daughter of people who immigrated to this country legally, and who respected this country enough to follow its rules before they came.”
“You hear Democrats say this a lot, and several speakers at the Democratic Convention have said that Donald Trump wants to tear families apart, but I don’t know how they can say that with a straight face,” Vance continued.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 19, 2024. (Jacek Bocharski/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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“Under Kamala Harris’s policies, our government has subjected thousands of innocent children to sex trafficking, drug trafficking and human trafficking,” Vance said. “Kamala Harris is the party that believes in separating parents from their children, because that’s what open borders have done. We’ve separated children from Americans. We’ve separated children from many illegal immigrants. Either way, that’s not good.”
“I don’t blame the poor children who are being forced into prostitution and drug trafficking by the Mexican drug cartels,” he said, “but I don’t want to pursue policies that make it easier for the cartels to take advantage of children. We should pursue policies that make it harder for the cartels to operate. We should fight the cartels and not facilitate their prostitution and drug trafficking.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the vice president’s office and the Harris campaign for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Vance concluded his speech with a final message to people who have entered the United States illegally.
U.S. Border Patrol agents process migrants in Jacumba Hot Springs, California, on June 28, 2024. (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)
“Our message to illegal immigrants who have broken our laws and come here is, if you’re here illegally, Donald Trump and I will work to get you sent home, because that’s what we need to do if we want real border policy,” Vance said. “And our message to anyone who wants to come to our country needs to be sent through the right channels, because if Kamala Harris is removed from office, and that will happen in the next few months, if Kamala Harris is removed from office, we will not be able to do business with illegal immigrants or with Mexican drug cartels.”
Vance previously noted that the scene of the attack was not far from where Laken Riley, a nursing student, was born and raised, and was allegedly killed by an illegal Venezuelan immigrant during a getaway.
Former President Trump’s running mate described Riley as “a beautiful young girl who would still be alive today if Senator Kamala Harris had done her job and not allowed drug cartels to invade our communities.”
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Former President Barack Obama spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Tuesday, arguing for a secure border “without separating children from their parents.”
President Obama did not mention the report, which was released the same day.
