Latest news with #UACs
Fox News
5 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
The human cost of Biden's shameful 'Children's Crusade' at the border
Around the year 1212, a boy preached to children in France that they should take up the cross and follow him to the Holy Land. Thousands did. None reached Jerusalem. Most gave up before leaving Europe. Others were shipwrecked or sold into slavery in the Islamic caliphate of Tunisia. Centuries later, the Biden administration's facilitation of mass illegal entry by unaccompanied alien children (UACs) and releasing them into the hands of unvetted adults has caused misery on an even larger scale. The seed was planted years earlier. As Lora Ries, a former official with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, wrote, a 2008 law called the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) created incentives to "entice parents to send their children across the border unaccompanied to receive immigration benefits and gain a foothold in the U.S. so their families could hopefully later follow." In the early 2000s, between 4,800 and 8,200 UACs were encountered at the border per year. After the TVPRA, numbers rose, hitting 68,000 in 2014. Under Biden, federal agencies became the last leg in an international smuggling business that brought millions of inadmissible aliens to the U.S. from around the world, including 550,000 minors. As expert witness Tara Rodas testified to the House Homeland Security Committee in November 2024, "Criminal sponsors are defrauding the U.S. government by using this government program as a logistical chain in their trafficking operation." While illegal alien parents and labor-exploiting employers paid for UACs to get to the U.S. border, it was often our tax dollars that brought them inside the country and delivered them into the hands of barely vetted adult sponsors. Inadmissible UACs from further than Mexico who try to enter the U.S. illegally become the responsibility of the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). Under Biden, children were released to putative sponsors in a matter of days. Verification of the sponsors' identities was inexcusably lax. HHS released children to sponsors with whom they had no blood relation and allowed adult sponsors to send photos of identification documents rather than come in personally. There was little follow-up to check on the children's welfare after placement with the sponsors. A February 2024 HHS inspector general's report looked at 342 of 16,790 UACs they had released to parents or sponsors in March and April of 2021. In 16% of cases, there was no evidence that required sponsor safety checks had been done. Almost one in five UACs were "released to sponsors with pending FBI fingerprint or State child abuse and neglect registry checks" – and when those results came in, the files were never updated. In a third of the cases, the identification documents the sponsors submitted "contained legibility concerns" – a nice way of saying ORR couldn't read them properly to confirm they were valid. What if the sponsors weren't caring for the children or were exploiting them? No one knew. ORR's follow-up was in most cases only a phone call. In 22% of cases HHS examined, "ORR did not conduct timely Safety and Well-Being Follow Up Calls," and in another 18% of cases they didn't document those calls in the case files. That was in early 2021 – and the UAC numbers got worse later in the Biden years. As this chart shows, every year from 2021 – 2024 saw more than 100,000 UACs apprehended entering illegally – nearly all of whom would have been released into the U.S. Under our immigration laws, UACs should be removed unless they are given asylum or other protection. But incredibly, ICE failed to issue Notices to Appear in immigration court to over 291,000 UACs they released between 2019 and 2024, according to the DHS Inspector General. And when they did, more than 43,000 of them never showed up for a hearing. The New York Times reported that "[m]igrant children have ended up working dangerous industrial jobs in violation of child labor laws across the country — in slaughterhouses, factories, construction sites and elsewhere… Some have been gravely injured or killed." Having ended Biden's catch-and-release at the border, the Trump administration is now repairing the damage done over four years of recklessness and negligence. This means not only arresting, detaining, and deporting adult illegal aliens, but also finding thousands of UACs whom HHS has lost track of. The aim is to return as many children as possible to their parents, ideally back in their home countries. So far, the Trump administration has found 13,000 of the UACs who dropped off the radar. Today, ORR is requiring proper identification, with fingerprints, photos, DNA samples, as well as background checks and financial records before they release children. Alien adults in the U.S. who have pending asylum claims – even bogus or fraudulent ones that will ultimately fail – can still pick up their children from ORR and keep custody pending the family's immigration process. Many don't, because they aren't really relatives. Or they fear due process because they are here illegally and haven't taken even basic steps to try and legalize their status. Now that ORR is strictly verifying parent and sponsor identities, the average time children remain in ORR custody has grown from a few weeks to months. That is testament to how weak the vetting standards for sponsors have been for the last four years. Many teens who came to work here leaving their parents abroad are opting to go home rather than stay longer in ORR custody. Federal law requires the government to "ensure that unaccompanied alien children in the United States are safely repatriated to their country of nationality." That should be the priority now. Then, Congress needs to close the UAC loopholes in immigration law and return custody responsibility from HHS back to DHS, so that never again will so many children be at risk of serious harm and fall through the cracks of an immigration system spread among too many federal agencies.
New York Post
25-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Migrant kids trafficked to pedophiles under Biden are being rescued by ICE, border czar Tom Homan tells ‘Pod Force One'
Migrant children who went missing after being smuggled across the border under the Biden administration have been rescued from being sex-trafficked to pedophiles — including a 14-year-old pregnant girl found living with adult men two weeks ago — according to Border Czar Tom Homan. In the latest episode of the 'Pod Force One' podcast, Homan said Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have also discovered minors who were forced into servitude on ranches and chicken farms, as ICE searches for hundreds of thousands of migrant children unaccounted for during Joe Biden's four-year illegal alien invasion. 'There were 300,000 missing children under the last administration,' said Homan. 'We've found thousands of them… We rescued victims of sex trafficking [and] two weeks ago, we rescued a 14-year-old that was already pregnant, living with adult men… Advertisement 7 Migrant children who went missing after being smuggled across the border under the Biden administration have been rescued from being sex-trafficked to pedophiles, according to Border Czar Tom Homan. Tamara Beckwith 'We rescued some victims of forced labor. We found children working on ranches and chicken farms, not going to school, but enslaved labor in the United States of America… 'Some of the children we found [were] perfectly fine with their families… They just didn't respond to call-ins [because they] didn't want to face the consequences of immigration court.' Advertisement The number of unaccompanied alien children [UACs] crossing the border surged to record levels under Biden, as changes to border enforcement policies incentivized families and smugglers to send minors to the US. More than 500,000 children were recorded entering the country and were placed with sponsors while awaiting immigration proceedings. 7 In the latest episode of the Pod Force One podcast, Homan said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have also discovered minors who were forced into servitude on ranches and chicken farms. A report last August from the Department of Homeland Security's office of inspector general found that the Biden administration lost track of hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied children and placed some with potentially dangerous sponsors who had not been adequately vetted. More than 31,000 addresses provided by sponsors turned out to be 'blank, undeliverable, or missing apartment numbers,' the inspector general reported. At one location, 'sponsor addresses were incorrect 80 percent of the time'. Advertisement ICE officers at one field office also told the inspector general that thousands of migrant children had been released to sponsors 'who are not immediate family and are not a parent, sibling, or grandparent.' 7 A report last August from the Department of Homeland Security's office of inspector general found that the Biden administration lost track of hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied children. James Keivom HHS released more than 14,500 migrant children in 2023 and more than 9,600 in 2024 'to unrelated sponsors' or distant relatives. Of more than 2,400 children released to sponsors over one week in November 2023, only 1,000 went to their parent or a legal guardian. About 300 went to unrelated sponsors or distant family members. Three children were released to their 'spouses,' including one spouse who was 40 years old. Advertisement 'Although these relatives may have been appropriately qualified, [one ICE officer] noted the UACs most at risk for trafficking or forced labor are those released to an unrelated sponsor.' 7 James Keivom During visits to three sponsor addresses where multiple children had been released, the inspector general found 'potentially unsafe conditions' including 'bars on the inside of a window' in an area that was 'very dangerous, was run by gangs, and had high crime rates and daily shootings. The [ICE officer] noted one UAC within their area of responsibility left their sponsor's address to join a local gang.' Another sponsor address was found to be 'a rundown apartment complex with appliances stacked on patios and apartments with no doors. Police also reported criminal activities at this location, such as a stabbing and shootings. 'Another sponsor address was a dilapidated motel that did not have a kitchen. UACs' sponsors provided this address five times. 7 Tamara Beckwith 'During a site visit in another city, ICE officers noted an illegal drug deal occurring based on their law enforcement experience at an apartment complex where 44 UACs had been released in FY 2023.' Homan told 'Pod Force One' that the Biden administration rushed the vetting process to avoid the 'optics' of overcrowding at the border. Advertisement 'They didn't care about the invasion itself; it was the optics.' 7 'They didn't care about the invasion itself; it was the optics,' Trump's border czar said. James Keivom DNA tests were routinely used during the first Trump administration to verify that an adult accompanying a child really was the parent, he said, but the Biden administration abandoned the tests. Homan said in some of the DNA testing 'as high as 30 percent [of] the families weren't families. Not relatives at all. The [children] were being trafficked… Advertisement 'A lot of parents paid a smuggling organization to bring their kids [over the border]. Some of these children were trafficked. We know HSI [Homeland Security Investigations] had several investigations where a child was rented by the criminal cartel to an adult male or female, crossed the border [and] when you're done, you send the kid back [and] re-rent them.' 7 Homan had harsh words for Democrat politicians like California senator Alex Padilla who are 'screaming and yelling about ICE arresting peoplee' after 'sex trafficking of women and children skyrocketed' under Biden. Tamara Beckwith Homan had harsh words for Democrat politicians like California senator Alex Padilla who are 'screaming and yelling about ICE arresting people and ICE enforcing the law. Meanwhile, in four years under Biden… sex trafficking of women and children skyrocketed, not a word.' Advertisement 'Thousands of children were being smuggled into the country every week. Over half a million children were smuggled into the United States. Separated from their families, put into the hands of criminal cartels… not a word.' But he vowed: 'We're going to find every one of these kids. President Trump made a promise. We're going to keep that promise.'
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump DOJ moves to dissolve Flores decree which governs detention of unaccompanied minors in the U.S.
In a motion filed in federal court in Los Angeles, the Trump DOJ is moving to dissolve the 'Flores Consent Decree.' Attorney General Pam Bondi maintains the decree is incentivizing illegal immigration at the southern border. The Flores decree has governed the detention and release of migrant children since 1997. The motion, filed by the DOJ and jointed by HHS and the Department of Homeland Security, asks a federal court in southern California to dissolve the decree. Biden-appointed Federal Judge Keeps Blocking Trump Admin From Nixing Funding For Lawyers For Migrant Children However, the motion to terminate the Flores decree will be heard at a July 18 hearing before US District Judge Dolly Gee in Los Angeles. Judge Gee has presided over the case for years, and it is unlikely she will agree to get rid of the Flores decree, setting up a possible battle before the federal appeals court, and ultimately the Supreme Court. "The outdated Flores consent decree was implemented as a stopgap measure almost 30 years ago but in recent years has directly incentivized illegal immigration at our southern border. Congress and various federal agencies have already solved the problems that Flores was designed to fix, and this consent decree is now an unacceptable restriction on our America-first immigration agenda," said Attorney General Pam Bondi in a statement to Fox News. Federal Judge Bucks Trump Admin, Delays Dismissal Of Of Ms-13 Leader's Case Read On The Fox News App DOJ officials also tell Fox News the idea is to put the power back into the hands of elected officials in Washington, rather than a single federal judge in California. In the filing the DOJ says the government is moving, "to terminate the FSA completely and with respect to all Defendants, and to dissolve the Court's injunction of DHS's regulations for apprehension, processing, care, and custody of alien minors…After 40 years of litigation and 28 years of judicial control over a critical element of U.S. immigration policy by one district court located more than 100 miles from any international border, it is time for this case to end." More from the filing: In light of the significant changes in circumstances since this Court entered the FSA 28 years ago, including the promulgation of regulations incorporating the goals of the FSA, and Supreme Court precedent that is inconsistent with continuing such a long-term decree, further continuation of the FSA is no longer equitable or in the public interest. Trump Doj Drops Biden-era Legal Challenge To Texas Border Security Law This Court entered the FSA as a consent decree in 1997 and amended it in December 2001. The FSA has governed the care and custody of unaccompanied alien children (UACs) ever since, notwithstanding intervening legislation by the U.S. Congress and agency regulations. In 2015, this Court expanded the FSA to accompanied children, see Flores v. Lynch, 828 F.3d 898, 906, 909 (9th Cir. 2016), even though it is obvious from the FSA's terms that the parties did not contemplate their inclusion. Thus, as to accompanied children, the national policy has long been set by a district court (and not the President or Congress), notwithstanding that the consent decree providing the basis for district-court supervision does not claim to regulate this class of aliens. That simply cannot be. During the 28 years that this Court has controlled federal policy regarding the custody of alien children who are in the United States without immigration status, enormous, cardinal changes have occurred: surges of aliens have entered the U.S. in between ports of entry across the southwest border, including large groups of aliens who voluntarily surrendered to Border Patrol—surrenders orchestrated by traffickers; the demographics of aliens arriving at the border have shifted to include significantly higher numbers from countries outside the Western Hemisphere and higher numbers of children; a global pandemic necessitated the government's utilization of its expulsion authority to protect public health; and the subsequent lifting of the policy led to an upheaval in immigration policy for over two years. The Executive has not been able to react fully and meaningfully to these changes because the FSA has ossified federal immigration policy. Successive administrations have tried unsuccessfully to free themselves from the strictures of the consent decree and this Court's gloss on it. But detention of juvenile aliens continues to be—as it has been for more than a generation—dominated by the strictures of a 1997 article source: Trump DOJ moves to dissolve Flores decree which governs detention of unaccompanied minors in the U.S.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Feds lost track of tens of thousands of unaccompanied alien children after release: DHS OIG report
In a new report, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) inspector general found that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is unable to effectively monitor the location and status of each unaccompanied alien child (UAC) who comes into the U.S. illegally and is released from custody. Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari said in the report that between fiscal years 2019 and 2023, ICE transferred over 448,000 UACs into the custody of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. From there, most of the UACs were released to sponsors. But over 31,000 of those 448,000 children were released to addresses that were left blank, had missing apartment numbers or were undeliverable. The IG also noted that ICE did not always know the location of UACs who fled while in HHS custody. Chicago Mayor Fires Back At Border Czar's 'Reprehensible' Threats To Prosecute Him Over Ice Raids Cuffari said an investigation into the matter found ICE did not issue notices to appear (NTA) to all UACs, which would have generated assignment of immigration court dates by the Department of Justice (DOJ), and as of January this year, it had not served NTAs on over 233,000 unaccompanied children. Read On The Fox News App Of the UACs who were served NTAs before October 2024, over 43,000 failed to appear for their scheduled court dates. The report also found that ICE was not always notified about the safety or status of the children unless it received a tip. However, those issues, the IG said, happened because ICE was not always notified about the locations of sponsors by other federal agencies. Fed Agencies Released Noncitizens Without Id Into Us, Allowed Them To Board Domestic Flights: Dhs Oig Report Cuffari acknowledged staffing to be able to monitor each UAC was limited, and without that ability, there was no assurance the children were safe from trafficking, exploitation, forced labor or criminal activity. 'Political Stunt': Critics Dismiss Harris' Expected Arizona Border Visit As Immigration Remains Top Issue Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Tex., brought up the crisis involving unaccompanied alien minors during a House Homeland Security Committee Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement hearing on March 25. He was told that during the Biden administration, HHS lost track of many of the minors and that some were subjected to trafficking, child labor and other things. "The Biden administration's total failure at the border had disastrous consequences, and it's shameful that even innocent, unaccompanied children were caught in the crosshairs," Gonzales told FOX News. "The fact that we can't locate tens of thousands of these minors in the U.S. is completely unacceptable, as it's likely that many of these children have ended up in dangerous situations. Not having answers is unacceptable, and it's past time to put our heads together to fix this problem for good."Original article source: Feds lost track of tens of thousands of unaccompanied alien children after release: DHS OIG report
Fox News
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Feds lost track of tens of thousands of unaccompanied alien children after release: DHS OIG report
In a new report, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) inspector general found that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is unable to effectively monitor the location and status of each unaccompanied alien child (UAC) who comes into the U.S. illegally and is released from custody. Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari said in the report that between fiscal years 2019 and 2023, ICE transferred over 448,000 UACs into the custody of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. From there, most of the UACs were released to sponsors. But over 31,000 of those 448,000 children were released to addresses that were left blank, had missing apartment numbers or were undeliverable. The IG also noted that ICE did not always know the location of UACs who fled while in HHS custody. Cuffari said an investigation into the matter found ICE did not issue notices to appear (NTA) to all UACs, which would have generated assignment of immigration court dates by the Department of Justice (DOJ), and as of January this year, it had not served NTAs on over 233,000 unaccompanied children. Of the UACs who were served NTAs before October 2024, over 43,000 failed to appear for their scheduled court dates. The report also found that ICE was not always notified about the safety or status of the children unless it received a tip. However, those issues, the IG said, happened because ICE was not always notified about the locations of sponsors by other federal agencies. Cuffari acknowledged staffing to be able to monitor each UAC was limited, and without that ability, there was no assurance the children were safe from trafficking, exploitation, forced labor or criminal activity. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Tex., brought up the crisis involving unaccompanied alien minors during a House Homeland Security Committee Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement hearing on March 25. He was told that during the Biden administration, HHS lost track of many of the minors and that some were subjected to trafficking, child labor and other things. "The Biden administration's total failure at the border had disastrous consequences, and it's shameful that even innocent, unaccompanied children were caught in the crosshairs," Gonzales told FOX News. "The fact that we can't locate tens of thousands of these minors in the U.S. is completely unacceptable, as it's likely that many of these children have ended up in dangerous situations. Not having answers is unacceptable, and it's past time to put our heads together to fix this problem for good."
