Nearly two dozen Republican state attorneys general are demanding the Biden government address what they term “grim” reports concerning the whereabouts of 85,000 children believed to be missing. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, and Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra, and FBI Director Christopher Wray, urging greater action to prevent children from being handed over to suspected human traffickers.
The letter sparks grave concerns over the welfare of children, citing a report from the HHS Office of Inspector General that noted serious safety issues for unaccompanied children at the U.S. southern border. The report stated that safety checks weren’t performed in a timely manner for more than one in five children and that over a third of cases included identification documents from sponsors that raised objections, with some children being released to empty or nonresidential homes.
The letter further explains that the law mandates that the Department of Health and Human Services protect these children upon their arrival in the United States. The attorneys general charge that the department has failed in this duty, with the consequence being that thousands of these children may have become victims of forced labor or sex trafficking, often suffer from neglect and hazardous working conditions, and, at times, endure severe injury or death.
