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.
