Grassley highlights abuse cases of unaccompanied minors who were placed with unvetted sponsors

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley on Wednesday detailed three cases of unaccompanied migrant children who were allegedly abused by unvetted sponsors during the Biden administration. 

Grassley noted that abuse of migrant children within the immigration system has occurred under presidents from both parties, but acknowledged that the Trump administration has implemented policies to cut down on the mistreatment.

"In recent, four or five years, we’ve had lots of cases where the lives of these children weren’t protected, because the Department of Health and Human Services isn’t properly vetting the adults that these children are placed with," Grassley said in floor remarks. "During the Biden administration, the vetting process to safeguard these children barely existed – putting them in harm’s way.  

"Today, I’m making public records, obtained from the Trump Department of Health and Human Services, which illustrate the dire consequences of weak Biden administration vetting policies," he continued. "These records show terrible cases of fraud and exploitation involving vulnerable children, and the public needs to know that this is probably just the tip of the iceberg." 

The senator highlighted one case where two brothers were placed with a man alleging to be the boys' father, but who later assaulted the boys "on a regular basis," and broke child labor laws by forcing them to work every day until 10 p.m.

"The brothers’ sponsor also reportedly withheld the wages that the brothers earned, so that smuggling fees to get into this country could be paid," Grassley said. "The brothers’ sponsor reportedly had a violent criminal history, which could’ve been revealed through fingerprinting background checks."  

Grassley noted that the background checks and fingerprinting are now required by the Trump administration but were only assumed to be followed under former President Joe Biden. 

Another case placed two children into the care of another sponsor who claimed to be their father, but one of the children was forced to sell drugs. The sponsor also had a history of using false aliases that dates back to at least 2015, and fraud convictions.

The final case was related to a young child who was placed with someone posing as the child's father, whose real mother later admitted was a lie to get her child into the United States.

"Sadly, these stories were all but inevitable because the Biden-HHS prioritized speed – getting these people out of the immigration system, getting out of the authority and responsibility of HHS – over the safety of the children," Grassley said.   

All three cases have been referred to the Justice Department for prosecution, Grassley said.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.