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Whistleblowers Reveal Failures in Vetting Sponsors for Migrant Children
Whistleblowers reveal the Biden administration's Office of Refugee Resettlement failed to vet sponsors for unaccompanied minors, leading to cases of human trafficking.
MAYFIELD, KENTUCKY, UNITED STATES 12.15.2021 Photo by Alexis Hall Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Biden administration’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) failed to adequately vet sponsors for unaccompanied minors apprehended at the border, leading to several cases of human trafficking, whistleblowers testified before Senators on Tuesday. Deborah White, a federal employee detailed to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ORR, and her colleague, Tara Rodas, described their findings at a roundtable hosted by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.).
White disclosed that she and Rodas uncovered trafficking cases involving minors in June 2021, but despite reporting these issues, “children continued to be sent to dangerous locations with improperly vetted sponsors.” She cited instances where children were placed at addresses that were either abandoned or non-existent, and detailed a case where a child was sent to an open field in Michigan despite emergency calls.
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White expressed frustration over ORR's refusal to address contractor failures and said fraudulent documentation was rampant. Rodas described the practice of uniting children with individuals who were not their actual parents, including a disturbing case of a 16-year-old Guatemalan girl being exploited by her sponsor.
Florida Department of Children and Families Secretary Shevaun Harris criticized the low percentage of children released to their parents and condemned the lack of thorough vetting. White and Rodas claimed that ORR and Cherokee Federal, the primary contractor responsible for resettling children, ignored warnings about trafficking to avoid overcrowding at the border.
White called the ORR program “the biggest failure in government history” and criticized both ORR leadership and Cherokee Federal for allowing the trafficking to continue. Sen. Cassidy urged President Biden to address the crisis, arguing that the exploitation of children should compel immediate action.
HHS and Cherokee Federal have not yet responded to requests for comment.
