U.S. Fails to Monitor Hundreds of Thousands of Illegal Alien Minors Risking Forced Labor, Trafficking

A year after a mainstream newspaper reported that the Biden administration lost track of 85,000 illegal immigrant minors welcomed into the United States upon crossing the Mexican border, a federal audit reveals that tens of thousands have subsequently vanished from the government’s radar and hundreds of thousands go unmonitored. It marks the latest in a multitude of scandals involving the nearly half a million Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC)—rebranded Unaccompanied Children (UC) by the Biden administration to be more politically correct—admitted into the country in the last few years. The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which operates under Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is responsible for caring for UAC, which are overwhelmingly males over the age of 14, according to government figures. They come from Guatemala (42%), Honduras (28%), El Salvador (9%), Mexico (8%) and “other” (13%).

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the “premier” Homeland Security law enforcement agency created after 9/11 to safeguard the nation and preserve national security, is responsible for monitoring the location and status of all UAC inside the U.S. This is important because many of the minors have been victims of abuse and exploitation but also because some have committed violent crimes after being released into American communities. This includes a teen from El Salvador who raped and murdered a Maryland woman, two teens—one from El Salvador and other from Guatemala—charged with raping a 14-year-old girl at a public high school, and a pair of 17-year-old Central Americans who executed a Massachusetts man by shooting him in the head shortly after crossing the southwest border. Both had ties to the famously violent gang known as Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), renowned for drug distribution, murder, rape, robbery, home invasions, kidnappings, vandalism, and other brutal crimes.

Despite the documented threats presented by some UAC and media reports exposing how many are victimized, ICE fails to keep proper track of the young migrants once released into the country by HHS and the agency does not initiate removal proceedings for those who should be deported. Investigators from the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General (DHS IG) found that the agency transferred more than 448,000 illegal immigrant minors to HHS between 2019 and 2023 but was not able to account for the location of more than 32,000 UAC and failed to serve more than 291,000 illegal immigrant minors “who warranted placement in removal proceedings under 8 U.S. Code Section 1229(a)” a Notice to Appear (NTA) in court. “Additionally, even though HHS is responsible for the care and custody of UCs, ICE did not always inform HHS’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) when UCs failed to appear in immigration court after release from HHS’ custody,” the DHS IG report states, adding that ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers at only one of the 10 field offices probed by investigators attempted to locate UACs who did not appear in immigration court.

The DHS watchdog also points out that the underage migrants may be at high risk for trafficking, exploitation or forced labor and ICE must take immediate action to ensure the safety of those residing in the United States. By not issuing NTAs to hundreds of thousands of UAC who were not placed in removal proceedings, the report says the agency limits its chances of having contact with the illegal aliens when they are released from HHS custody, which reduces opportunities to verify their safety. “Without an ability to monitor the location and status of UCs, ICE has no assurance UCs are safe from trafficking, exploitation, or forced labor,” auditors write.

The government’s UAC program has for years been rocked by many other problems that have put young migrants at risk, including physical and sexual abuse at U.S.-funded shelters. In 2021 Judicial Watch obtained records from HHS documenting 33 incidents of physical and sexual abuse during a one-month period at shelters where the government houses UAC until they are relocated with a sponsor. That year a federal audit blasted the agency for failing to protect UAC from sexual misconduct at the facilities. During a six-month period alone, investigators from the HHS Inspector General’s office uncovered more than 750 incidents involving sexual misconduct at dozens of shelters housing minor detainees. Last year the HHS IG slammed the agency for failing to properly vet employees and contractors who care for the illegal immigrant minors. Just weeks ago, the U.S. sued a nonprofit it has paid billions to house migrant youths for sexually abusing them for years.