Former President Donald Trump on Friday said Vice President Kamala Harris is responsible for thousands of children who entered the United States illegally after he left office and are now forced into sex slavery, missing or dead, in one of the strongest rebukes yet of her work as border chief.
Speaking at a rally in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, Trump said the Democratic presidential candidate, who is President Biden's point man on tackling the surge in illegal border crossings, is responsible for about 325,000 minors whose whereabouts are unknown to federal authorities.
“Just think about the numbers. 325,000 children are missing. Many are dead. Many are involved in sexual exploitation. Many are probably working as slaves in different parts of this country,” the Republican presidential candidate said in Johnstown.
“She was a border czar,” Trump added. “Now she says, 'I wasn't a border czar,' and she was. The headlines were, 'border czar,' 'border czar,' and she doesn't want those words now. But whether she was a border czar or not, she had jurisdiction over the border. 325,000 children are missing.”
Department of Homeland Security Inspector General The report was issued Last week, it said 232,000 immigrants under the age of 18 had either not appeared for immigration court hearings or had been released from detention but had not yet heard back about their next steps.
Shortly after Biden took office, unaccompanied migrant children were allowed to remain in the U.S. if they crossed the border illegally. At the time, most other migrants were summarily expelled under a temporary COVID-era health policy that also applied to minors under the Trump administration.
Biden aides have called the policy humane, but Republicans have argued it could lead to even more unaccompanied minors, many in their late teens, entering the country.
Investigative reporting revealed that many unaccompanied minors were placed in the care of businessmen by the Department of Health and Human Services, who treated them like indentured servants and made them work rather than attend school.
Forcefully Keeping sharp slaughterhouse equipment clean On the night shift.
Over time, the administration has allowed most family units and single adults seeking asylum from suspected persecution in a very slow process to remain in the U.S. After a six-month wait, asylum seekers are eligible for work authorization.
Illegal border crossings have hit record highs every year during Harris' term as she halted the crisis, totaling about 2.5 million in fiscal year 2023. But monthly apprehensions have been declining in recent days since Biden issued an order in June capping the processing of illegal immigrants.
Harris defended herself in an interview with CNN's Dana Bash on Monday, saying some progress has been made.
“The work that I did as vice president that the president asked me to do to understand the root causes has actually produced many benefits, including historic investment by American companies in the region. Since we began that work, the number of immigrants coming from that region has actually decreased,” she said.
But after Biden rejected his predecessor's “Remain in Mexico” policy, which required people to wait for asylum decisions elsewhere, Trump on Friday blasted his rival for stoking the crisis by allowing most undocumented immigrants to stay in the U.S.
“She created the Fast Pass Entry Program to expedite the entry of illegal immigrants into all of our ports of entry,” Trump charged in Johnstown.
“Now they have a new excuse, 'We have a strong border,' and they keep repeating it over and over again. It's the worst border in history, but they think if they keep saying it over and over again…”
Trump added that an influx of immigrants could have a negative impact on Social Security, especially if the Biden-Harris bill passes and provides a path to citizenship for most illegal immigrants.
“Kamala has vowed to offer massive amnesty and citizenship to all the millions of illegal immigrants who have been allowed into the country. It will eliminate Medicare, it will eliminate Social Security for seniors,” Trump said.
He also said immigrants are a threat to public safety, saying, “Typically, if you're holding a tic-tac-toe board, [tattooed] That's not a good thing for your forehead.”
A spokesman for Harris did not immediately respond to The Washington Post's request for comment.
Trump addressed the plight of migrant children after years of criticism for prosecuting adults who crossed the border illegally and forcibly separating families, including about 5,000 children, under then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions' “zero tolerance” policy.
As of last year, about 1,000 children remained separated from their parents, but only 81 of them had unknown parents' whereabouts.
