In a powerful display of advocacy for vulnerable children, Tim Ballard, the former Homeland Security agent also known as the Sound of Freedom hero joined forces with Congressman Chris Smith, a Republican from New Jersey. They are calling on the Biden administration to take immediate action to locate an estimated 85,000 unaccompanied minors.

Ballard and Smith are concerned about the minors who crossed the southern border in record numbers. And remain unaccounted for in the United States.

Rep. Smith, an advocate for trafficking victims and author of several anti-trafficking laws joined forces with Ballard, who founded Operation Underground Railroad, an organization that has made significant strides in combating child exploitation. 

Together, they seek to protect the most vulnerable among us and bring justice to those who have fallen victim to human traffickers.

The duo made an impassioned plea during a press conference held outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.  They unveiled a groundbreaking piece of legislation known as the "Safeguarding Endangered Children, Unaccompanied and at Risk of Exploitation Act of 2023," or the "SECURE Act of 2023." 

The bill was designed to compel the federal government to provide detailed reports on their efforts to locate, establish contact with, conduct wellness checks on, and investigate any suspicion of human trafficking related to unaccompanied migrant children in the US.

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 The minors were released from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) custody. And the children disappeared without subsequent contact.

Rep. Smith, addressing the pressing issue, pointed to the Biden administration's open border policies as a primary cause for concern, stating, "Due to the failed open border policies of the Biden administration, we must address the tens of thousands, really hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied minors now at risk for trafficking and abuse." 

Sound of Freedom hero in the fight

He went on to introduce Tim Ballard as a "hero" in the fight against child exploitation.

Tim Ballard, referencing HHS data, revealed that at least 85,000 children have vanished within the United States, emphasizing that these children have seemingly disappeared into a country that, shockingly, "consumes more child exploitation material than any other country on the planet." Ballard added, "This should horrify every American. We refuse to enforce the borders."

Statistics from U.S. Customs and Border Protection indicate that since early 2021, over 345,000 children have crossed the southern border of the United States unaccompanied. Tragically, a significant number of these children have fallen victim to child sex trafficking, forced child labor, or child sexual exploitation and abuse.

The bill introduced by Rep. Smith spotlights the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the ORR's responsibility for these children's well-being, both before repatriation and placement within safe homes in the United States. Disturbingly, HHS and ORR have lost contact with as many as 85,000 of these migrant children after placing them with sponsors in the United States, leaving their locations and well-being unknown.

Tim Ballard, who recently met with the presidents of Honduras and Guatemala on this issue, criticized the United States' political approach to the crisis, stating, "Politics over children is what we’re doing in this country." 

He highlighted the fact that regardless of political ideologies, both presidents shared the same concerns about the fate of their women and children, alluding to the United States' role in creating a vacuum that traffickers exploit.

He further stressed the need for comprehensive background checks and proper vetting before releasing migrant children into the United States. "Foreign children are children of God," Ballard asserted, "And they deserve the exact same protection."

The bill also introduces penalties for delayed reporting, compelling these agencies to act diligently in accounting for the missing unaccompanied children.

 Despite attempts by some to politicize "Sound of Freedom," its director, Alejandro Monteverde, and co-writer Rod Barr have maintained that the film is a true story that sheds light on the critical issue of human trafficking.