Shocking News from Whistleblower: U.S. Government “Middleman” in Migrant Child Trafficking Operation at the Border

wral.com

Disclaimer:  This article may contain the personal views and opinions of the author.

The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement plans to hold a hearing today called “The Biden Border Crisis: Exploitation of Unaccompanied Alien Children.”

The purpose of the hearing is to delve into the surge in unaccompanied minors, known as UACs, at our southern border. 

The number of UACs who arrived at the border thus far in the fiscal year 2023 is already double the number for the entire fiscal year 2020. 

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) statistics show that the number UACs arriving at the border in fiscal year 2020 was 33,239. For fiscal years 2021 and 2022, the numbers jumped to 146,000 and 152,000, respectively. 

When CBP officers encounter unaccompanied child migrants at the border, they transfer them to Health and Human Services (HHS) and then unite them with a sponsor who is typically a parent or family member already residing in the U.S. 

According to various reports, however, officials have been “unable to make contact with more than 85,000 child migrants; and more recently, administration officials reportedly ignored signs of ‘explosive’ growth in child labor. A number have been forced into indentured servitude to pay back smugglers and have worked in dire conditions.”

Three witnesses are set to testify in the hearing: Tara Lee Rodas, an HHS whistleblower; Sheena Rodriguez, founder and president of Alliance for a Safe Texas; and Jessica Vaughn, director of Policy Studies at the Center for Immigration Studies.

“Today, children will work overnight shifts at slaughterhouses, factories, and restaurants to pay their debts to smugglers and traffickers. Today, children will be sold for sex,” Rodas will say of a longtime border issue that has increased significantly.

“Today, children will call a hotline to report they are being abused, neglected, and trafficked. For nearly a decade, unaccompanied children have been suffering in the shadows.”

“I thought I was going to help place children in loving homes. Instead, I discovered that children are being trafficked through a sophisticated network.”

“Some sponsors view children as commodities and assets to be used for earning income – this is why we are witnessing an explosion of labor trafficking,” Rodas wrote in a statement.

“Whether intentional or not, it can be argued that the U.S. Government has become the middleman in a large scale, multi-billion-dollar, child trafficking operation run by bad actors seeking to profit off the lives of children.”

Sheena Rodriguez, said in testimony, “We can no longer turn a blind eye and pretend this isn’t happening. Congress has the power to stop this, which is why I am calling on you to do what is right.”

“[UACs] have been carelessly funneled through the custody of U.S. government agencies and contractors, and handed off to very lightly vetted sponsors (who are usually also here illegally) in our communities without regard to their safety and well-being,” Jessica Vaughn will say.

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said, “I have never heard that number of 85,000, I don’t know where it comes from and … so I would say it doesn’t sound at all to be realistic, and what we do is we try and follow up as best we can with these kids,” he said.

Becerra points to limited authority after the children are placed with sponsors. He said they try to follow up but there is no obligation for the child or the sponsor to report back to the HHS.