NEW VIDEO: “People Who Worked for Him Were Horrified”

Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter behind the investigation into HHS losing track of 85,000 migrant children revisits the scandal and the failures under Becerra’s leadership

BAY AREA — After years of dodging accountability and dismissing fact-based criticism as “MAGA talking points,” Xavier Becerra is being confronted by the facts: under his leadership, the Department of Health and Human Services lost touch with 85,000 migrant children, many of whom were released into unsafe situations and exposed to exploitation, dangerous labor conditions, and abuse. Now, the New York Times reporter who broke the story is speaking publicly about her investigation in a new KQED interview.

WATCH AND LISTEN: NYT reporter recounts Becerra’s failures as HHS Secretary.

The reporter, Hannah Dreier, directly rebutted Becerra’s claim that migrant children were no longer his responsibility once they were released from HHS custody. This, in Dreier’s own words, was highlighted in a new video from the Steyer for Governor campaign.

“When a kid crosses the border, HHS can’t just send them to anyone,” Dreier said. “They have a congressionally mandated responsibility to vet the sponsors and make sure those sponsors are going to provide a place where the kid does not have to work. And that clearly did not happen.”

According to former staffers cited in the interview, warnings from employees were repeatedly ignored while Becerra increased pressure to move the children “like an assembly line.”

The interview paints a clear picture of failed leadership inside HHS under Becerra’s watch. Staff members described being pressured to prioritize speed over safety and said it “felt like when they were sending up these warnings, they were just falling on deaf ears.”

“Vulnerable children were put at risk, warnings were ignored, and accountability was absent during Becerra’s tenure as HHS Secretary,” said campaign spokesperson Ariana Andrade. “If this is how he manages a crisis of this scale, Californians should seriously question whether he is the type of leader they want as their next governor.”

Excerpts from Dreier’s account are below. The full interview is available here.

“I found children working the overnight shift at slaughterhouses, 12-year-olds working on roofs. I found kids with chemical burns, kids who’d had their limbs mangled in industrial machines.”
“But HHS – which Becerra was running — that is the agency that was charged with making sure that these children were only released to safe homes. When a kid crosses the border, HHS can’t just send them to anyone.”
“They have a congressionally mandated responsibility to vet the sponsors and make sure those sponsors are going to provide a place where the kid does not have to work. And that clearly did not happen.”
“HHS was unable to get a hold of 85,000 children after they were released.”
“I’m in touch with a lot of people who worked for Becerra during this time, and they absolutely want to see this brought up. They feel like they saw his management up close and personal. And like what happened with the vetting of sponsors during this time was a total disaster.”
“It’s not that the Trump admin, the first Trump administration was sending children out to work in huge numbers or anything like that. I mean, my reporting showed that this really started when Becerra and Biden started sort of pushing these kids out to adults who are planning to put them to work.”
“They were getting enormous pressure from Becerra to move kids along more quickly.”
“A lot of people told me that they felt like they would flag cases for extra review and instead of the cases getting reviewed, the kids would just be sent out before they could even check back to see what happened.”
“One thing we obtained was video of a meeting where Becerra is berating his employees and telling them that they have to move children more quickly through shelters. And he’s saying we want to do this like an ‘assembly line. Henry Ford never would have become rich if he hadn’t been more efficient.’”
“People who worked for him were horrified. They felt like this is not a Henry Ford factory. These are children. And they felt like when they were sending up these warnings, they were just falling on deaf ears.”
“One caseworker told me she talked to a sponsor who was a stranger who told her outright over the phone that he was going to put the kid to work. And the kid got released to that person.”
“When I was doing this reporting, going to the grocery store became impossible. Like I was trying to go to the farmer’s market because that was the only place I could figure out to get chicken and eggs that didn’t have some kind of horrible exploitation behind them.”
“At the time, in 2023, two days after we published the first of these stories, the White House responded immediately. The press secretary said that it was a heartbreaking situation. Sort of everything that you’ve just said: that it wasn’t acceptable and they were going to make all of these changes. But Becerra never said anything like that. And he was called before Congress many times and grilled on exactly what we’ve been talking about, how this was allowed to happen with all of these children.”
“And he said the same thing we’re hearing today, that it wasn’t HHS’s fault, this was other agencies, and basically never took responsibility, even as his own agency was making changes.”
“And it really worked, I think, politically, at the time, you know, people wondered if he might be fired at the time, and he never was. And I wonder if it’s working now also.”

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Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter behind the investigation into HHS losing track of 85,000 migrant children revisits the scandal and the failures under Becerra’s leadership

WATCH AND LISTEN: NYT reporter recounts Becerra’s failures as HHS Secretary.

According to former staffers cited in the interview, warnings from employees were repeatedly ignored while Becerra increased pressure to move the children “like an assembly line.”

Excerpts from Dreier’s account are below. The full interview is available here.

“I found children working the overnight shift at slaughterhouses, 12-year-olds working on roofs. I found kids with chemical burns, kids who’d had their limbs mangled in industrial machines.”
“But HHS – which Becerra was running — that is the agency that was charged with making sure that these children were only released to safe homes. When a kid crosses the border, HHS can’t just send them to anyone.”
“They have a congressionally mandated responsibility to vet the sponsors and make sure those sponsors are going to provide a place where the kid does not have to work. And that clearly did not happen.”
“HHS was unable to get a hold of 85,000 children after they were released.”
“I’m in touch with a lot of people who worked for Becerra during this time, and they absolutely want to see this brought up. They feel like they saw his management up close and personal. And like what happened with the vetting of sponsors during this time was a total disaster.”
“It’s not that the Trump admin, the first Trump administration was sending children out to work in huge numbers or anything like that. I mean, my reporting showed that this really started when Becerra and Biden started sort of pushing these kids out to adults who are planning to put them to work.”
“They were getting enormous pressure from Becerra to move kids along more quickly.”
“A lot of people told me that they felt like they would flag cases for extra review and instead of the cases getting reviewed, the kids would just be sent out before they could even check back to see what happened.”
“One thing we obtained was video of a meeting where Becerra is berating his employees and telling them that they have to move children more quickly through shelters. And he’s saying we want to do this like an ‘assembly line. Henry Ford never would have become rich if he hadn’t been more efficient.’”
“People who worked for him were horrified. They felt like this is not a Henry Ford factory. These are children. And they felt like when they were sending up these warnings, they were just falling on deaf ears.”
“One caseworker told me she talked to a sponsor who was a stranger who told her outright over the phone that he was going to put the kid to work. And the kid got released to that person.”
“When I was doing this reporting, going to the grocery store became impossible. Like I was trying to go to the farmer’s market because that was the only place I could figure out to get chicken and eggs that didn’t have some kind of horrible exploitation behind them.”
“At the time, in 2023, two days after we published the first of these stories, the White House responded immediately. The press secretary said that it was a heartbreaking situation. Sort of everything that you’ve just said: that it wasn’t acceptable and they were going to make all of these changes. But Becerra never said anything like that. And he was called before Congress many times and grilled on exactly what we’ve been talking about, how this was allowed to happen with all of these children.”
“And he said the same thing we’re hearing today, that it wasn’t HHS’s fault, this was other agencies, and basically never took responsibility, even as his own agency was making changes.”
“And it really worked, I think, politically, at the time, you know, people wondered if he might be fired at the time, and he never was. And I wonder if it’s working now also.”

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