Senator Marsha Blackburn has called out the Biden administration for mishandling migrant children and allegations that the government is delivering some to human traffickers.
The New York Times recently reported a rise in child exploitation, where children are forced into the labor force—sometimes to pay back their smuggling costs.
Over the last two years, the agency could not reach more than 85,000 children and lost immediate contact with a third of migrant children.
Blackburn demanded that HHS Secretary Becerra provide her office with answers to a series of questions, including when he learned of the mishandling and exploitation of migrant children and whether he was aware it is a crime under federal law to make a materially false statement to Congress.
Republicans have blamed the ongoing border crisis on the Biden administration’s policies, which they say have encouraged illegal migration and for parents to put their children into the hands of smugglers.