Senate Democrats have blocked a measure that a former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official said would be a “powerful deterrent” to child trafficking at the U.S.-Mexico border.
On Thursday, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) tried to push for unanimous passage of a bill to end child trafficking. I need DHS will DNA test all adult migrants arriving at the southern border, and any children who arrive with them, to prove they are related.
Senate Democrats blocked passage of the bill.
Blackburn and other Senate Republicans said the bill aims to end the child trafficking process in which adult migrants bring unrelated children across the border in the hopes of them being released onto U.S. soil.
President Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security Reportedly Such DNA testing ended last year.
Last year, Laura Reese, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Center on Border Patrol and Immigration, told the Senate Judiciary Committee that if the Biden administration ends DNA testing, it will ultimately lead to a surge in child trafficking.
“The results are as expected. Child smuggling, child recycling, child trafficking are on the rise again. If you say you’re family, we’ll take you at your word,” Rees said.
DHS officials have previously suggested that as many as three in 10 children arriving at the border with adult migrants are victims of human trafficking.
These sobering figures prompted former President Donald Trump’s administration to expand cross-border DNA testing.
“It’s clear that on-site DNA testing has a powerful deterrent effect. [Homeland Security Investigations] “Time and again, agents have observed people coming forward with fake family identities before being examined,” said Derek Benner, a former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer. Said 2019.
The bill is co-sponsored by Sens. Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Thom Tillis (R-NC), John Hoeven (R-ND), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Cindy Hyde Smith (R-MS), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Mike Lee (R-UT), Steve Daines (R-MT), J.D. Vance (R-OH), and Joni Ernst (R-IA). Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX) previously introduced a similar bill in the House of Representatives.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter. here.
