Mobile Courant

U.S. Senators Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and Katie Britt (R-AL), along with Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and 41 other Republican colleagues, have called on President Biden and Vice President Harris to address alleged abuses in the unaccompanied alien children (UAC) program. They are urging cooperation with Congress to rectify what they describe as mismanagement by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The senators' letter criticizes the administration's handling of over 500,000 UACs who have crossed the southwest border since Biden took office. The letter states, "As a result of your open-borders policies, overseen by Vice President Harris... 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."

They claim these children often face abuse and exploitation during their journey and upon arrival in the U.S., where they are allegedly placed with unvetted sponsors. The letter continues, "Your Administration also fails them when they arrive in the United States by rushing them out of the custody of your Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) into the hands of unvetted sponsors who often continue to exploit and abuse them."

The senators argue that HHS has not complied with subpoenas from Homeland Security Investigations related to potential child trafficking rings. According to their statement, "DHS informed Senator Grassley’s office that HHS ORR has not sufficiently complied with two out of every three subpoenas."

The letter also highlights cases where UACs released by HHS were involved in criminal activities after placement. It cites instances such as an individual linked to MS-13 who was involved in multiple crimes post-release.

The senators demand immediate action from HHS Secretary Becerra to improve transparency and cooperation with law enforcement. They state, "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."

This call for action follows previous efforts by Senators Tuberville, Britt, Grassley, and others to push for changes in how unaccompanied migrant children are managed under current policies.