As many progressive legislators run to the aid of a deported MS13 gang member, raising the question of due process and getting in some much-needed camera time, the ongoing trafficking of children at the border has no one coming to stop Coyotes. It's the easiest way in for the extremely dangerous criminals – use kids that have fake papers for familial sponsorship. Now who’s going to stop it?
Retired Border Chief Chris Clem, a three-decade agent, has been tapped by President Trump to address the 470,000 unaccompanied children who arrived over the last four years. The more alarming number, according to Clem, is that in the Trump administration's first 100 days, he discovered 70% of sponsors' applications were fraudulent.
Eric Ruark, an immigration researcher with NumbersUSA, agrees that children are difficult to track "because of some combination of apathy, incompetence, and bureaucratic inefficiency." Ruark explained to the BBC last November: "Many, hopefully even most, are safe with caring sponsors," he added. "But the Biden administration can't actually say one way or the other and doesn't care enough to find out."
A strong campaign promise has put the Trump administration on everyone's site to fix the problem. How will 47 get a handle on the most abusive treatment of vulnerable children in this day and age?
Child Trafficking?
Opponents of Trump's hard-handed approach to illegal immigration say that, most likely, the 470,000 kids simply missed their court date. But Joseph Cuffari of the Inspector General's Office reports that children "who do not appear for court are considered at higher risk for trafficking, exploitation, or forced labor." It sounds like a case of “I don’t care” from the Biden bureaucracy. However, Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, with the migrant advocacy group American Immigration Council, expressed to the BBC that the figures are indicative of a bureaucratic "paperwork issue" rather than "anything nefarious."
"When you hear the phrase 'missing,' you think that there is a child that someone is trying to find and can't," he said. "That's not the case here. The government has not made any effort to find these children."
One might think current policies would be employed, and children would be either sent back to their parents or wind up with an accredited family residing in the US. The steps are in place: Unaccompanied minors are detained at the US-Mexico border. It is a complicated process that should begin with detention and the processing by Border Patrol. If the child is not from Mexico or Canada, they are placed into removal proceedings and transferred to the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). So, where are they going? And why did the Biden administration not do its due diligence – even if these children are just "administratively missing?"
In April, the Border Patrol stopped two US citizens at a checkpoint in El Centro, CA. Two women were driving an SUV with two children asleep in the back seat. The women are both US citizens and were trafficking two kids to who knows where. The driver initially claimed they were traveling from Arizona to California but admitted she crossed the US from Mexico via the San Luis Port of Entry.
And this, folks, is how the trafficking of children starts," said Chief Patrol Agent Gregory K. Bovino of the El Centro Sector. "It's almost unbearable to think about what heinous crimes await children who aren't with their parents. The border environment has been rife with this type of activity over the past several years. However, the focus has now shifted, and heavy sentences await smugglers who hurt kids."
Both women have been charged under the 8 USC 1324 Alien Smuggling. That's two children. Where are the rest? The stories that we know about are heinous; the ones unsolved should give this country nightmares.
Is there even a Plan?
Approximately 450,000 migrant children crossed the US-Mexico border without their parents during the Biden administration. They were supposedly placed with sponsor families from legitimate immigration groups. However, some migrant groups are worried if these kids are found and documented properly, sponsors who are also in the US illegally will be deported.
President Trump is now using multiple agencies, including Homeland Security and the FBI, to find these children.
ICE is currently collecting and collating data on the "administratively" lost kids, identifying including "flight risk," "public safety," and "border security." There will be DNA tests, fingerprinting, and increased background checks. It is an unwieldy process that should never have been allowed to burgeon in an out-of-control way.
According to Mr. Clem, no one will be immune from his mission:
"We are going to leave no stone unturned. If you are complicit, if you are knowingly and willingly encouraging, aiding, and abetting, directly or indirectly, illegal immigration, whether it's cross-border or inside the United States, we're coming after you. Those are the laws. And it doesn't matter if you are a teenage smuggler on the Rio Grande or a sophisticated cartel or, unfortunately, an elected member of Congress or a state and local government. If you are aiding and abetting, if you are facilitating illegal activity, the US government is coming after you."
During a recent meeting with the Office of Refugee Resettlement, it was reported that ICE was pursuing 247,000 tips regarding the trafficking and smuggling of unaccompanied minors and referring cases to the FBI for further investigation. Where is the outrage?
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