U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) is demanding accountability following a new report revealing that ICE lost track of at least 32,000 unaccompanied migrant children (UCs) and possibly as many as 323,000.
The DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) report confirmed that over the last five years, ICE failed to keep tabs on 32,000 UCs who did not show up for their immigration court hearings.
The report also suggests that ICE may have lost track of an additional 291,000 UCs who were never placed in removal proceedings or given court dates, raising concerns that the true number of missing children could be much higher.
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In a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Patrick Lechleitner, Blackburn expressed outrage over the findings, emphasizing the grave risks these children now face.
“On your department’s watch, tens of thousands of migrant children are now missing—leaving them highly vulnerable to human trafficking and exploitation. This, unfortunately, is just the latest failure of the Biden-Harris border crisis that continues to unfold,” Blackburn wrote.
The report highlights ICE’s failure to fulfill its fundamental duty to manage and monitor the immigration cases of these children after they were transferred to the custody of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
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Blackburn criticized the agency for its lack of follow-up on these cases, stating, “It is plain to me that you have failed in your most basic duty to keep these children safe from harm.”
The Senator also pointed out that this issue is part of a broader pattern of neglect by the Biden administration, referencing previous reports that HHS had lost track of at least 85,000 migrant children. Despite repeated requests, Secretary Xavier Becerra has not provided more information on these missing children.
The OIG report found that from Fiscal Year 2019 to 2023, ICE lost track of more than 32,000 UCs who failed to appear for their court hearings. Additionally, ICE failed to issue Notices to Appear (NTAs) to over 291,000 UCs, meaning these children were never given a court date, further exacerbating the problem.
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Blackburn is calling for immediate action and transparency to address these alarming failures, stating that the American people and the families of these missing children deserve answers.
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