Republican lawmakers are asking the Department of Health and Human Services to provide more information about the 85,000 unaccompanied alien children the agency can no longer locate, according to a Wednesday letter obtained by the agency. It is said that there is. Daily Caller News Foundation.
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In February 2023, new york times published an article alleging that the Biden administration’s health services, which are responsible for sponsoring unaccompanied migrant children, have lost contact with tens of thousands of children. The agency noted that it is supposed to call a minor one month after signing with a U.S.-based sponsor to confirm the minor’s presence. “Over the past two years, the agency was unable to reach more than 85,000 children,” the report said.
“In all, government agencies immediately lost contact with one-third of the migrant children in their custody,” the Times said. According to reports, HHS spokeswoman Kamala Jones said the influx of migrants crossing the southern border is putting pressure on authorities to quickly find sponsors for unaccompanied children, and ultimately He said his safety was at risk.
“There are many places in the process to continually ensure that the placement is in the best interests of the child,” Jones told the Times.
Last month, a group of nearly 20 Republican attorneys general sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray, and Department of Health Secretary Xavier Becerra, stating that some of the missing children are He argued that there was “reason to believe that.” victims of human trafficking; fox news digital report.
“The United States must stop handing over children to ‘potential traffickers,'” the AGs wrote, noting that HHS had “relaxed vetting procedures.” They estimate that “thousands of children are currently victims of forced labor and sex trafficking.”
This was announced by the HHS Office of Inspector General. report In February, it was discovered that there were “gaps” in the agency’s sponsor review process.
“In 16 percent of child case files, one or more required sponsor safety inspections were missing documentation that the inspections were conducted,” the OIG reported. “For 19 percent of children released to sponsors pending FBI fingerprinting or state child abuse and neglect registry testing, the child’s case file was never updated with the results.”
Earlier this month, Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana also wrote two letters, one to the Biden administration’s Department of Labor and the other to the Department of Health, warning of “a growing trend in exploitative child labor.” did.He accused HHS of “relaxing.”[ing] Examine the sponsor’s requirements. ”
Lawmakers demand action
On Wednesday, 10 Republican lawmakers, led by Texas Rep. Lance Gooden, sent a joint letter to Becerra providing additional information about the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement’s sponsor approval process and efforts to keep children safe. I asked for it.
“During the worst border invasion in our nation’s history, the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) announced last July that it had lost contact with more than 85,000 children in sponsored care,” the letter obtained by DCNF said. “An alarming incident has recently occurred,” it read. The HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) report found that ORR failed to meet various mandatory safety inspections necessary to protect the safety and well-being of unaccompanied migrant children. ”
The lawmakers declared that HHS is “directly responsible for ensuring that unaccompanied children do not become lost, trafficked, or abused.”
“One former border official said traffickers would ‘offer’ children to unrelated adults at the border, who would simply return the children to the traffickers after they reached their destination in the United States.” wrote the Republican Party.
Lawmakers demanded that HHS answer several questions, including why the agency would “delete” it.[d] Citizenship Requirements Policy for UAC Sponsors” and under what circumstances do we not require background checks on sponsors?
“We are concerned that fraud surrounding UAC sponsorships is serious due to ORR’s lackluster policies and procedures for verifying sponsors’ identities and relationships with children. Even if they are apprehended, transported, and processed alone, they are not safe from traffickers who may pose as sponsors.”Migrant children are being flown across the country by the federal government.” said.
The letter to Becerra was signed by several Texas Republicans, including Gooden, Jake Elsey, Brian Babin, Chip Roy, Beth Van Duyne and Pete Sessions. . Signatories also include Reps. Clay Higgins of Louisiana, Diana Hershberger of Tennessee, and Reps. Tom Tiffany and Glenn Grossman of Wisconsin.
Gooden posted on social media yesterday criticizing Biden and his administration.Intentional“Border crisis.
“Joe Biden is responsible for the insurrection that’s happening at the southern border,” he said. I have written.
HHS did not respond to requests for comment from DCNF.
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