Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) is urging FBI Director Chris Wray to launch a comprehensive investigation into the staggering number of migrant children that the Biden Administration has lost contact with since their release into the United States – an estimated 85,000. Hawley’s call comes after allegations were made by former Health and Human Services (HHS) official-turned-whistleblower, Tara Lee Rodas.
During a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on Wednesday, Rodas accused the US government of acting as a “middleman” in a multi-billion dollar migrant trafficking operation at the southern border. Senator Hawley’s letter to Director Wray pointed to Customs and Border Protection statistics that revealed as many as over 345,000 children have arrived at the border unaccompanied since early 2021.
Hawley’s letter further cited recent reports from the New York Times, which claim that HHS has lost touch with tens of thousands of migrant children. Many of these children, he noted, are now believed to have fallen victim to child labor crimes since being released. Since President Biden took office in January 2021, over 3.5 million illegal immigrants have come into the United States through the southern border, and border patrol agents have encountered over 356,000 unaccompanied minors. Most of these children have been subsequently released into the United States.
Hawley’s letter highlights how recent reporting shows HHS “loosened vetting processes for sponsors and retaliated against whistleblowers who raised these concerns.” Senator Hawley decried the fact that children are being handed over to “modern-day slave traders,” who force them to work in factories under grueling conditions, process meat in animal slaughterhouses, and reroof houses, to name a few examples. He noted that these children were regularly denied food, education, and subjected to sexual violence. Senator Hawley added that such exploitation violates both the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, federal laws aimed at preventing and punishing exploitation and trafficking of children.
Senator Hawley called for the FBI Director’s full-scale effort, including conducting investigations to locate the missing children and bring their traffickers to justice. Hawley also urged holding the Biden administration officials accountable for their alleged role in facilitating the exploitation of these children.
