Tara Rodas, a whistleblower from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has raised concerns about the misuse of the Unaccompanied Children (UC) Program at the U.S. border. She testified before the House Homeland Security Committee on November 21, stating that cartels and criminal gangs are exploiting the program, resulting in thousands of children being lost within the United States.
"Child trafficking has evolved into an international syndicate of gangs and cartels that is highly organized and very efficient," said Rodas, HHS Whistleblower, according to Homeland Security Committee. "Smugglers and traffickers, during this administration, have moved many of the more than 500,000 unaccompanied children that have flooded across the U.S. Southern border. Sadly, due to the failed open border policies of the Biden-Harris administration, we have delivered these unaccompanied children to criminals, traffickers, and members of transnational criminal organizations, who are using the UC Program as a white glove delivery service of children. These criminal sponsors are defrauding the U.S. government by using the UC Program as the logistical chain of their child trafficking operation."
According to a press release, the House Homeland Security Subcommittees on Border Security and Oversight conducted a joint hearing to examine how the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and HHS manage unaccompanied alien children (UACs). This inquiry comes amid growing concerns over missing and exploited minors. A report from the DHS Inspector General indicated that since 2019, over 291,000 UACs have not received court Notices to Appear, with more than 90,000 cases recorded in 2021. Rodas claimed there is inadequate vetting of sponsors and exploitation by gangs such as MS-13, involving activities like sex trafficking, forced labor, and organ harvesting.
Rodas testified that HHS instructed her and another employee to overlook sponsors of UACs: "We were told we were not to be investigating the sponsors," she said during the hearing. She noted instances where children were placed with sponsors who already had multiple children. Her superior reportedly told her: "You need to understand at HHS, we only get sued if we keep kids in care too long. We don’t get sued by traffickers."
Since fiscal year 2021, according to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, there have been 447,969 UACs released to sponsors in the United States.
Robin Dunn Marcos, a senior HHS official responsible for overseeing programs for solo child migrants, informed the House Judiciary Committee that HHS does not check criminal histories for unaccompanied migrant teens under its care. The New York Post reported that Marcos said while identity documents are verified with consulates, criminal records are not requested. At least 85,000 UACs have been lost track of by HHS.
Rodas is identified as an HHS whistleblower and a Federal Inspector General Employee according to Congress.gov.
