This month is National Human Trafficking Awareness Month. Did you know that over a four (4) month period in 2014, the Obama Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") placed a number of underage refugee children (“UAC”) in the hands of a ring of human traffickers who forced them to work on egg farms in and around Marion, Ohio. The minor victims were forced to work twelve hours per day under threat of physical harm, and even death, if they did not work or surrender their entire paychecks.
This revelation prompted the Senate’s PERMANENT SUBCOMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATIONS Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs to investigate HHS’s screening process for UAC sponsors and other measures to protect them from trafficking. Their report can be found at the link below. Serious deficiencies found by the Subcommittee exposing UACs to the unacceptable risk of trafficking and other forms of abuse at the hands of their government-approved sponsors include … but were by no means limited to: (1) HHS’s process for verifying the alleged relationship between a UAC and an individual other than a parent, guardian, or close family member is unreliable and vulnerable to abuse; (2) HHS is unable to detect when a sponsor or group of related sponsors is seeking custody of multiple unrelated children; (3) HHS has failed to conduct adequate background checks on the sponsors and other relevant adults; (4) HHS does not adequately conduct home studies; (5) After a child’s release to a sponsor, HHS allows sponsors to refuse post-release services offered to the child—and even to bar contact between the child and an HHS care provider attempting to provide those services; and (6) Many UACs fail to appear at immigration proceedings which is a principal task and requirement of the sponsor.
Between 2013 and 2015, the Obama Administration's HHS placed 90,000 migrant children into sponsor care. Exactly how many of those fell prey to traffickers is unknown, because the agency does not keep track. Yes, you read that correctly. The agency does not keep track.
Remind me again about caring about children …
https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Majority%20&%20Minority%20Staff%20Report%20-%20Protecting%20Unaccompanied%20Alien%20Children%20from%20Trafficking%20and%20Other%20Abuses%202016-01-282.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0sUdon6qP6FayTK1cgAb9D0U1N-66TsROuGoeFzwQ6wH_gcg1FPiGA73A