FOX Original Report: Dozens of Republicans in the House and Senate have slammed the Biden-Harris administration's response to the hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied migrant children who have entered the U.S. since 2021, alleging a “concealment” of information and policies that have led to their potential exploitation.
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa led lawmakers in a lengthy letter to President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, accusing the administration of failing unaccompanied migrant children by “rushing them from the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) into the hands of unvetted sponsors who often continue to exploit and abuse them.”
More than 500,000 unaccompanied alien children (UAC) have crossed the border without a parent or guardian since 2021. When unaccompanied children arrive at the border, they are currently turned over by Border Patrol to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which attempts to find them a sponsor (usually a family member) within the country.
Thousands of migrant children missing, watchdog report says, Republican senator accuses DHS of 'reckless neglect'
Migrants walk along a highway through Suchiate, Chiapas, southern Mexico, on their way north to the U.S. border, Sunday, July 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Edgar H. Clemente)
The letter alleges that the administration has cut background checks and vetting procedures as part of an effort to speed up the process, and that the administration “continued Vice President Harris' long-standing priority of reducing information sharing between HHS ORR and law enforcement regarding unaccompanied children and sponsors.”
The letter was led by Senator Grassley and included Senate Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member Ron Johnson, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Ranking Member Bill Cassidy, and House Immigration Subcommittee Chairman Tom McClintock.
Lawmakers point to the administration's moves to limit familial DNA testing, as well as a Trump administration proposal to offer post-release medical exams to prisoners who are released to legal sponsors.
The issue was highlighted last year when The New York Times reported that authorities had been unable to contact 85,000 minors, and that they could no longer contact a third of them directly.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said at the time that the numbers were “just not real” and that “we are trying to follow up with these children to the best of our ability.”
“Congress gives us certain authority. Our authority ends when we find a suitable sponsor to place the child with. We try to follow up, but there's really no obligation on either the child or the sponsor to follow up with us,” he said.
Homeland Security Inspector General discovers ICE has lost tens of thousands of migrant children
Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, sent the letter to President Biden and Vice President Harris. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
This year, the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general submitted a report to Congress concluding that more than 32,000 UACs had failed to appear for immigration court in the past five years and that Immigration and Customs Enforcement had failed to account for the whereabouts of all those who did not appear.
The lawmakers said HHS ORR is “actively trying to cover up the consequences of its egregious decisions” and accused the administration of silencing whistleblowers. The letter also states that DHS recently informed Grassley's office that HHS had not fully complied with two of three subpoenas/requests for information that Grassley had reported on possible child trafficking rings.
“By failing to provide law enforcement with the information they requested, ORR denied Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents critical information, including the child and sponsor's most recent addresses and the identities of other household members,” the letter said.
They also allege that HHS failed to vet sponsors, leading to it ignoring possible gang ties, and had no policy for referring suspected gang members for prosecution or investigation.The report highlights the death of Kayla Hamilton, allegedly at the hands of an unaccompanied migrant.
HHS Secretary 'not aware' of reports agency can't contact 85,000 unaccompanied migrant children
“The Department of Health and Human Services must end the cover-up and work with law enforcement and Congress to end this crisis and protect unaccompanied children and the American people,” they said. Fox has reached out to the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services for comment.
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The letter comes as immigration remains a top issue in 2024. Republicans have pointed to the historic crisis on the southern border and linked it to the administration's “open borders” policy.
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The administration says those numbers have fallen sharply in recent months since President Biden signed an executive order limiting asylum claims at the border. The administration is calling on Republicans to support a bipartisan border security bill unveiled earlier this year, which Republicans say would codify high levels of illegal immigration.
