U.S. Marshal Service (USMS) Director Ronald L. Davis stated that thousands of children remain missing following Operation We Will Find You. Davis made the statement in a Department of Justice press release on July 1.
"One of the most sacred missions of U.S. Marshals Service is locating and recovering our nation's critically missing children," said L. Davis, according to U.S. Department of Justice. "This is one of our top priorities as there remain thousands of children still missing and at risk."
In May 2024, the U.S. Marshal Service partnered with local law enforcement agencies in Operation We Will Find You to locate as many of America's 375,000 missing minors as possible, reported News Nation. Many of these children were likely vulnerable to exploitation and human trafficking. During the six-week initiative, 200 children were located, with 123 removed from danger.
According to Senator Chuck Grassley, during a July 9 Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing regarding the safety of unaccompanied migrant children, 85,000 unaccompanied migrant children are unaccounted for following their entrance to the United States.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement's (ORR) Unaccompanied Children Program has custody of any unaccompanied minor who enters the country, according to the ORR website. The children are placed with sponsors to be cared for until they can be reunited with their families or their immigration case can be addressed.
At the July 9 hearing, Dr. Jarrod Sadulski said that unaccompanied migrant children are often placed with individuals posing as sponsors or family members when in reality their intention is to exploit the children, many having preexisting connections to Mexican cartels. One example given in the testimony had unaccompanied children placed in the care of a member of MS-13. These circumstances are due to a "history of inadequately vetted staff having access to children without background checks and security clearances," said Sadulski. "There is an urgent need to reform the UC program to mitigate further exploitation and trafficking of children."
Davis has served as Director of the United States Marshal Service since 2021, according to the USMS website. He has served in law enforcement since 1985. The United States Marshal Service oversees federal judicial security.