Westbank Louisiana News

U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Ron Johnson (R-WI) convened a roundtable titled “The Exploitation Crisis: How the U.S. Government is Failing to Protect Migrant Children from Trafficking and Abuse” in Washington today. The discussion focused on the shortcomings of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR)’s Unaccompanied Children (UC) program, which has resulted in numerous vulnerable migrant children being lost or handed over to potential criminals.

Senators Katie Britt (R-AL), John Cornyn (R-TX), Joni Ernst (R-IA), James Lankford (R-OK), and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) also participated in the event.

During the roundtable, Senator Cassidy criticized the Biden administration for its lack of cooperation with his investigation into the protection of unaccompanied children from forced labor and human trafficking. He noted that responses from the administration have been either non-existent or inadequate, often resembling press releases. Furthermore, he mentioned attempts by the administration to prevent private entities such as ORR contractor The Providencia Group from responding to his inquiries.

“This blatant lack of transparency with the American people is reprehensible,” said Dr. Cassidy. “Frankly, it is hard to see this as anything other than an effort to cover up and shield the Biden administration from scrutiny for its mistreatment and mishandling of unaccompanied children.”

Dr. Cassidy emphasized that child exploitation should not be a partisan issue: “The exploitation of children should not be partisan. This is not a Republican or Democratic issue. When vulnerable children are harmed or die at the expense of bad policies, everyone should be outraged.”

He further urged President Biden to take action: “President Biden has the power to prevent this by securing our border and reforming ORR to protect children from harm... If the exploitation of children will not force the President into action, I'm not sure what will.”

Panelists included Ms. Shevaun Harris, Secretary of Florida Department of Children and Families; Dr. Jarrod Sadulski, PhD, Criminologist; Ms. Deborah White, HHS Whistleblower; and Ms. Tara Lee Rodas, HHS Whistleblower.

Background information revealed that since 2021 over 500,000 unaccompanied children have entered the United States illegally under what has been described as "Biden’s border crisis." A 2022 report by HHS’ Office of Inspector General indicated that ORR's loosened vetting requirements have compromised its ability to protect these children from risks like trafficking and exploitation.

Further findings disclosed that ORR failed background checks on sponsors in 16 percent of cases and did not conduct timely safety follow-up calls in 22 percent of cases among other lapses.

For additional information on HELP Republicans' activities visit their website or Twitter at @GOPHELP.