Republicans are launching an investigation into the Biden-Harris administration after reports surfaced that thousands of migrant children, released into the U.S., have fallen into labor trafficking networks, raising alarm over the government's handling of these vulnerable minors.
The House Homeland Security Committee are investigating the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, following revelations that thousands of migrant children have been funneled into a labor trafficking pipeline after being released into the United States.
For over a year, the Biden-Harris administration has struggled to address a growing crisis as hundreds of thousands of Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) have been released into the U.S. interior with adult sponsors—most of whom are not the children's biological parents. This system has allowed a labor trafficking pipeline to flourish across the country.
Last year, the New York Times reported that about 85,000 UACs had been released to adult sponsors and subsequently became lost in the system.
Reps. Mark Green (R-TN), Clay Higgins (R-LA), and Dan Bishop (R-NC) have since sent a letter to top HHS officials under Biden and Harris, requesting detailed information on UACs released into the U.S. interior since early 2021.
"UACs remain highly vulnerable to human trafficking, and many are placed into the hands of human smugglers and cartel members in their journey to illegally cross the southwest border," the congressmen wrote. They emphasized that the statistics and data surrounding UACs are deeply troubling.
In February 2023, reports surfaced that over 85,000 UACs processed by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) over a two-year period were uncontactable, classified as "lost," representing a growing humanitarian crisis. From February 2021 through June 2024, over 500,000 UACs were encountered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection along the southwest border. During the same period, ORR released over 430,000 UACs to sponsors.
As record numbers of UACs are encountered, reports have highlighted the corresponding rise in child labor exploitation. The sheer number of UACs released to sponsors, coupled with the inability to contact these vulnerable children, has prompted the Committee to scrutinize ORR’s screening processes for both children and sponsors. Additionally, multiple reports from the HHS Inspector General have underscored a lack of thorough vetting of sponsors and a failure to follow up with children placed with them.
In a recent report, HHS Inspector General Christi Grimm revealed that in 22 percent of cases, the agency did not conduct proper follow-up calls to ensure the safety of migrant children released to adult sponsors. In one instance, HHS officials failed to check in with a migrant child until nearly 325 days after their release.
The Department of Labor reported an 88 percent increase in child labor trafficking in Fiscal Year 2023 compared to Fiscal Year 2019. Last year, nearly 6,000 children, many of whom were UACs, were found to be working illegally in dangerous and often life-threatening jobs.
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