Scott, Grassley, and Bicameral Colleagues Call Out Abuses in the Biden-Harris Unaccompanied Migrant Children Program

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) joined Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) in a letter urging President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to work with Congress to root out abuses in their administration’s unaccompanied migrant children program and stop the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)’s cover-up of the crisis. HHS has failed to comply with two out of three Department of Homeland Security (DHS) subpoenas and other information requests issued amid its investigation into more than 100 suspicious sponsors.

“As a result of your open-borders policies, overseen by Vice President Harris, who was tasked with “stemming the migration” at our border with Mexico, more than 500,000 unaccompanied alien children (UACs) have crossed the southwest border without a parent or guardian to provide care since you took office, a massive increase when compared to previous administrations.1 These UACs often experience horrible sexual, physical, and emotional abuse on the journey and are victims of cartel trafficking and exploitation, a business that surged an estimated 2,500 percent from the Trump Administration to the middle of your term in 2022,” wrote the senators.

The senators said, “Even as the trafficking business and the number of children entering the U.S. surged, HHS (Department of Health and Human Services) ORR (Office of Refugee Resettlement) cut back significantly on background checks and vetting procedures to speed up the process, despite knowing children were being trafficked through HHS ORR’s UAC (unaccompanied alien children) program. Your Administration likewise continued Vice President Harris’s longtime priority of cutting back on information sharing between HHS ORR and law enforcement related to unaccompanied children and sponsors.”

“This is not a partisan issue. It can and should bring us together, as we try to protect Americans and UACs placed in HHS ORR custody alike. Your Administration must make changes to its policies and procedures for UACs to end this public safety crisis,” continued the senators.

“[The Biden-Harris HHS] must stop its cover-up and cooperate with law enforcement and Congress to end this crisis and protect unaccompanied children and the American people,” the lawmakers concluded.

Read the full letter HERE.

Program Abuse
More than 500,000 unaccompanied migrant children have crossed the southwest border under the Biden-Harris administration, while cartel trafficking activity surged an estimated 2,500 percent. Amid this crisis, the lawmakers note the Biden-Harris administration limited background checks for sponsors of unaccompanied children, cut back on familial DNA testing at the border and decreased information sharing with law enforcement.

Seeking Solutions
The lawmakers are urging Biden and Harris to “make changes to [their] policies and procedures” in order to “end this public safety crisis.” They are specifically calling on the Biden-Harris administration to enhance information sharing with law enforcement and Congress, fully cooperate with DHS’s child exploitation investigation and thoroughly respond to all congressional oversight requests.

Joining Senators Tim Scott and Grassley on the letter are Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), along with Sens. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.),  John Thune (R-S.D.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), John Kennedy (R-La.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), and Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.).

Additional co-signers in the House include Reps. Tom McLintock (R-Calif.), Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Chip Roy (R-Texas), Dan Bishop (R-N.C.), Scott Fitzgerald (R-Wis.), Cliff Bentz (R-Ore.), Ben Cline (R-Va.), Barry Moore (R-Ala.), Russell Fry (R-S.C.), Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.), Wesley Hunt (R-Texas), Laurel Lee (R-Fla.), and Michael Rulli (R-Ohio).

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