Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) has called into question the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) handling of Unaccompanied Alien Children (UACs), released into the United States, under President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. In a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Hawley alleges that hundreds of thousands of these UACs are at risk of labor trafficking and exploitation due to the failures of both the DHS and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS.
According to the DHS Inspector General’s report, from Fiscal Year 2021 through Fiscal Year 2023, more than 365,000 UACs were released into the U.S. interior by the Biden administration. This large number of children placed with adult sponsors—most of whom are not biological parents—has led to concerns that they may be at risk of trafficking and forced labor.
Hawley’s letter claims that the policies put in place by the DHS have only exacerbated this problem, as the agency has lost track of these children and failed to inform anyone of their whereabouts. The senator is demanding immediate answers from Mayorkas regarding where the at-risk UACs are living, why DHS did not give court notices to many of them, what measures are being taken to locate these missing children, and how this failure occurred in the first place.
This issue has gained increased attention as reports have revealed that child labor trafficking rates have surged by 88% between Fiscal Year 2019 and Fiscal Year 2023. In fact, nearly 6,000 children, many of whom are UACs, were discovered last year working in dangerous and often life-threatening jobs throughout the United States.