Sen. Josh Hawley is demanding answers from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on how it lost track of nearly 300,000 unaccomapnied migrant children within the US.
Untold numbers of these missing children are at risk of sex trafficking and forced labor according to a Homeland Security Inspector General’s report that was released last week.
The DHS’s internal watchdog warned of an ‘urgent issue’ with how immigration officials have been handling the cases of migrant minors and found that they had failed to show up for immigration summonses and ICE was ‘not able to account’ for their locations.
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The Mail Online reports: For more than 291,000 unaccompanied immigrant minors, ICE had not bothered to serve them court dates, according to the watchdog, two-thirds of the migrant children who have made their way into the U.S.
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‘Unaccompanied migrant children are some of the most vulnerable individuals in America. They are routinely trafficked for sex, forced into illegal labor, burned with chemicals, and subjected to countless other atrocities by cartels,’ Hawley, R-Mo., wrote.
‘Not only did your agency lose track of these children, it didn’t even bother to tell anyone. That is unconscionable.’
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is responsible for placing the immigrant children with sponsors, but has lost track of tens of thousands of them after the children and their sponsors stopped responding. ICE, which is responsible for putting the children through to immigration hearings, did not follow up with them either.
‘ICE must take immediate action to ensure the safety of UCs residing in the United States,’ Inspector General Joseph Cuffari said in an alert. ‘Based on our audit work and according to ICE officials, UCs who do not appear for court are considered at higher risk for trafficking, exploitation or forced labor.’
‘By not issuing NTAs to all UCs, ICE limits its chances of having contact with UCs when they are released from HHS’s custody, which reduces opportunities to verify their safety,’ Cuffari added.
Without the capacity to monitor the children, there is ‘no assurance that they are safe from trafficking, exploitation, and forced labor.’
Hawley called to mind testimony Mayorkas gave the Senate in October 2023 when he claimed, ‘we have actually prioritized the rescue of children who have been trafficked.’
‘But according to your Inspector General, your policies are wholly exacerbating that same trafficking risk to migrant children,’ Hawley wrote.
He demanded Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas provide answers on where his agency believes these children are, why they were not given court notices, what his agency is doing to track them down and what led to the failed communication between HHS and DHS.
