Alejandro Mayorkas Says DHS Isn’t Responsible For Stopping Trafficking Of Migrant Children

In a recent appearance on Face the Nation, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas downplayed concerns surrounding the increasing number of missing migrant children, stating that stopping human trafficking is “outside the responsibility” of his department. His remarks come amid mounting evidence that hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied minors are being allowed to enter the United States under a controversial policy and are disappearing into an unregulated system that fails to ensure their safety.

Over the past few years, more than half a million illegal immigrant children have been allowed to enter the U.S., with an estimated 120,000 minors arriving each year under the classification of “unaccompanied alien children” (UACs). However, according to a New York Times investigation, approximately one-third of these children cannot be located within 30 days of their arrival.

While Mayorkas acknowledged reports of children being trafficked, he was quick to minimize the issue, suggesting that many minors who go missing may simply be illegal immigrants “refusing to cooperate” with reporting requirements. “Individuals do not comply with the reporting obligations, or otherwise, I think it is inaccurate to say that all of them are trafficked or victimized,” Mayorkas said during the interview.

His dismissal of the alarming statistics stands in contrast to a scathing report released by the Department of Homeland Security’s own watchdog, the DHS Inspector General. The report, published in August, found that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had failed to track down or serve legal notices to nearly 300,000 UACs. In some cases, the children were found to be in unsafe and exploitative conditions, but ICE agents were unable to intervene due to bureaucratic limitations.

The inspector general’s report highlighted disturbing cases where children were living in dangerous circumstances, including one instance where a UAC was allegedly in an inappropriate relationship with her sponsor’s husband, but ICE officers were unable to take any action. The report stressed the urgent need for better monitoring of UACs to ensure their safety from trafficking, forced labor, and exploitation.

The ongoing issue of missing children is linked to a policy loophole that provides preferential treatment to minors traveling alone across the U.S.-Mexico border. This policy created an incentive for human traffickers to separate families and exploit vulnerable minors.

The vast majority of children crossing the border alone come from Guatemala, where cartels are alleged to extensively advertise the opportunity to migrate to the U.S. Many of these minors are guided by “coyotes” (human traffickers), who arrange their dangerous journey to the U.S. Once apprehended, the children are transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement, which places them with “sponsors” in the U.S. The sponsors, however, are often other illegal immigrants, and there is no requirement that they be related to the children.

According to HHS, it does not meet the sponsors in person before releasing the children into their custody. Instead, it verifies the sponsor’s identity by asking for a screenshot of foreign IDs via WhatsApp. After placing the children with sponsors, HHS makes a single follow-up call 30 days later to check on the child. However, one-third of the time, sponsors fail to answer or refuse to let the children speak on the phone, The New York Times reported.

The lack of oversight after children are placed with sponsors has led to alarming reports of child exploitation. Many children are later found working in dangerous factory jobs, while others have been sold into the sex trade. Despite these reports, HHS has admitted that it has no authority to intervene even if sponsors do not comply with follow-up efforts. As HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra stated in a November Congressional hearing, the department has “no authority to do anything” if the check-ins reveal concerning circumstances.

Becerra defended the department’s actions, claiming that the responsibility for ensuring the children’s safety after they are placed with sponsors falls outside of HHS’s remit. “Our responsibility is to provide care while they were in our custody,” he said, adding that there are three attempts made to reach sponsors by phone. However, he acknowledged that if these attempts fail, HHS cannot compel a sponsor or child to respond.

Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) grilled Becerra during the hearing, questioning why the department continued releasing children to sponsors it could not monitor. “You have dropped them off at a sponsor’s house, you now can’t get a hold of them… You shrug your shoulders and then send another batch of kids out. That’s frightening to me,” McClintock said.