Griffith statement on unaccompanied minors

Wednesday, August 21, 2024 – In a memo to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) submitted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG), the OIG finds that ICE cannot monitor the location and status of all unaccompanied migrant children released from DHS custody and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) custody. The HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) is tasked with promoting the health, well-being, and stability of unaccompanied children through certain services. Further, the OIG reports that ICE could not initiate removal proceedings as needed. U.S. Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) issued the following statement:

“This report confirms my deepest fears of an issue I have sounded alarms about for years during the Biden-Harris era. As a former domestic relations attorney in Virginia, I am astounded by the negligence of our federal agencies when handling the release of these children to sponsors who are not sufficiently vetted.

“I held a hearing with HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra this Congress to advocate for better vetting policies. The safety of these children is in jeopardy. We have an obligation to ensure these migrant kids are not in danger of exploitation, being trafficked or put into forced labor.”

BACKGROUND

DHS turns over the unaccompanied minors to ORR.

Illegal immigration has exploded during the Biden-Harris era, resulting in the influx of hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied minors crossing the U.S. southern border. According to the ORR website, in FY2018 there were 49,100 referrals made by DHS. In FY2023, the number of referrals has hit more than 118,000.

In 2021, Congressman Griffith traveled to Fort Bliss, Texas, and visited the ORR Emergency Intake operation. At this location, immigration authorities conducted no collaboration with law enforcement to sufficiently vet sponsors of unaccompanied migrant children.

At a Health Subcommittee hearing in April of 2022, Congressman Griffith blasted HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, calling the agency’s vetting performance “plain poor.”

At a Health Subcommittee hearing in March of 2023, Congressman Griffith pushed Secretary Becerra about appearing before a separate hearing on ORR.

In July of 2023, Chair Griffith questioned Secretary Becerra in an Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee hearing focused on ORR. At this hearing, Chairman Griffith advocated for ORR to adopt more thorough vetting practices of sponsors, such as DNA testing and background check requirements.

This April, Congressman Griffith introduced H.R. 7854, the Unaccompanied Minor Placement Notification Act, which requires ORR to provide advanced notification to school districts and child welfare agencies when an unaccompanied minor is placed in their respective jurisdictions so that local agencies can at least confirm these unaccompanied minors are going to school.