Becerra continues to avoid accountability as over 85,000 migrant children disappeared under his watch; many were forced into labor, abuse, and trafficking.
THE FACTS
HHS Data Showed The Agency Lost Contact With More Than 85,000 Children, A Third Of All Migrant Children Released To Sponsors. “While H.H.S. checks on all minors by calling them a month after they begin living with their sponsors, data obtained by The Times showed that over the last two years, the agency could not reach more than 85,000 children. Overall, the agency lost immediate contact with a third of migrant children.” [New York Times, 2/25/23]
HHS Senior Staffers Were More Concerned For Migrant Children Under Becerra Than They Were Under Trump. New York Times reporter Hannah Dreier said: “We actually got access to a recording of an internal meeting where Secretary Xavier Becerra is berating staff for moving too slowly. [...] I mean, it was super upsetting for some senior-level people who’ve been working in this agency for years and years. Senior staff told me that they felt more worried for these kids even than they had under Trump.” [New York Times The Daily, 03/09/2023] (AUDIO)
Susan Rice, Domestic Policy Council Director Was So Critical Of Becerra’s Failure to Protect Migrant Children, She Resorted To Expletives. “Officials familiar with the matter alleged significant hostility between Rice and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra…Becerra was the target of especially sharp criticism, as he was on the receiving end of several expletive-laden denouncements. According to several people familiar with the matter, Rice said Becerra was a ‘b****-a**’ and privately called him an ‘idiot.’” [Axios, 2/12/24]
Biden “Tore Into” Becerra Over His Failure to Protect Migrant Children While Other Officials Warned Each Other Not To “Come To His Rescue.” According to Axios, “During one meeting when Biden was tearing into Becerra, Rice passed Mayorkas a note that read: ‘Don't save him,’ according to two people familiar with the meeting.” [Axios, 2/12/24]
26 Congressional Democrats Wrote To Becerra Demanding To Know How He Would Stop Losing Children To Forced Labor And Trafficking. The May 2023 letter reads, “We write to voice our deep concerns about the horrendous labor exploitation of migrant children that was recently documented in an ongoing investigative series by the New York Times. The articles contain disturbing firsthand accounts of children who have suffered from forced labor, trafficking, and abuse after being released from the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). These reports demand comprehensive changes to HHS policies to put an end to the exploitation of migrant children and ensure accountability for those who engage in this abhorrent practice.” [Letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, 5/25/23]
Secretary Becerra Compared Children To Cars on an Assembly Line. According to a staff meeting recording obtained by the New York Times, Becerra told staff, “‘If Henry Ford had seen this in his plants, he would have never become famous and rich. This is not the way you do an assembly line.’Mr. Becerra said at a staff meeting last summer, according to a recording obtained by The Times.” [New York Times, 2/25/23; @hannahdreier 2/25/23]
Under Becerra’s Leadership The Government Turned A Blind Eye To Children Being Trafficked. “And H.H.S. behaves as if the migrant children who melt unseen into the country are doing just fine. ‘As the government, we’ve turned a blind eye to their trafficking,’ said Doug Gilmer, the head of the Birmingham, Ala., office of Homeland Security Investigations, a federal agency that often becomes involved with immigration cases.” [New York Times, 2/25/23]
Becerra’s HHS Sent Unaccompanied Minors To Sponsors With MS-13 Ties And Potential Trafficking Rings. “Today released internal records from the Biden administration’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) revealing HHS knowingly sent two unaccompanied migrant children to a household with established connections to the violent MS-13 gang.” [Sen. Chuck Grassley, 7/11/2024]
A Florida Grand Jury Found Sponsors Used A Jacksonville Strip Club As A Listed Address — One Child Was “Pimped Out” By An “Aunt,” Others Were Sold For Sex. “Facilitating the forced migration, sale, and abuse of foreign children.” [Florida Grand Jury, 3/23]
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