Report: Federal Agencies Not Safeguarding Unaccompanied Minors

Another inspector general report has found that the federal agency responsible for caring for unaccompanied minors (UACs) brought into the United States is continuing to fail to vet sponsors and protect the children’s safety and well-being.

A Texas advocacy group is again renewing its call for state lawmakers to investigate and implement oversight measures since the majority of UACs are being housed in Texas.

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Sponsors in These 29 Florida Counties Received over 10,000 Unaccompanied Minors

Border Surge

In the past fiscal year, Florida received 10,542 unaccompanied children (UACs) from the border, many of whom were brought into the country illegally, according to data published by the U.S. Health and Human Services Department’s Office of Refugee Resettlement, tasked with oversight of and caring for the children.

Florida received the third greatest number behind Texas and California as it has almost every year. UAC data has been reported since fiscal 2015.

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Rep. Chris Smith to Introduce Federal Child Trafficking Legislation Drafted in Collaboration with ‘Sound of Freedom’ Producer

U.S. Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) announced Friday in advance of Sunday’s World Day Against Trafficking in Persons that he is planning to introduce legislation that would require the federal government to provide reports on its work investigating potential child trafficking related to the unaccompanied minors released from federal custody and with whom contact has now been lost.

“In the near future, I will be introducing new legislation drafted in collaboration with Eduardo Verastegui—the producer of ‘Sound of Freedom’ and Roger Severino of The Heritage Foundation,” Smith said in a press statement sent to The Star News Network, further detailing that the legislation would “require the federal government to report on efforts to locate, establish contact with, conduct wellness checks on, and investigate any suspicion of human trafficking related to the approximately 85,000 unaccompanied minors who were released from federal government custody and with whom subsequent contact has been lost.”

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Moody Seeks Investigation into Biden Administration’s Handling of Minors Trafficked to U.S.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody called on Congress on Tuesday to investigate the Biden administration for what she described as “subjecting unaccompanied minors to human trafficking.”

Moody did so after reporting the findings of a Florida statewide grand jury “documenting horrible conditions unaccompanied minors experience because of the Biden administration’s failed policies and lack of oversight.”

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In Just One Week, Border Patrol Arrested over 100 Felons Illegally Crossing the Border

Border agents in a single border sector arrested 104 convicted felons in one week, according to Yuma Sector Chief Patrol Agent Chris T. Clem.

The felons were apprehended between July 17 and 23, a period when agents encountered over 5,600 migrants from 46 different countries, according to a tweet Clem posted Tuesday. During the same period, agents encountered over 120 unaccompanied minors, prosecuted 57 migrants and intercepted nine human smuggling cases, according to Clem’s tweet.

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