U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has launched the UAC Safety Verification Initiative, a new partnership with state and local 287(g) law enforcement agencies, to locate and protect roughly 450,000 unaccompanied migrant children that the previous administration either “lost” or deliberately released to unvetted, often criminal sponsors.
This new effort represents a significant step toward cleaning up one of the most disturbing scandals of the Biden-Harris administration’s open-border era.
The initiative, which began rolling out in Florida earlier this week and is now expanding nationwide, focuses on welfare checks to ensure these children are not being sexually abused, trafficked, or exploited.
DHS blasted the Biden administration’s reckless policies that “empowered human and sex traffickers,” noting that many of the sponsors turned out to be gang members, abusers, and predators.
“Secretary Noem is leading efforts to rescue and stop the exploitation of the 450,000 unaccompanied children the Biden administration lost or placed with unvetted sponsors. Many of the children who came across the border unaccompanied were allowed to be placed with sponsors who were smugglers and sex traffickers. The Trump administration has located more than 24,400 of these children in-person, in the United States, through visits and door knocks,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
McLaughlin added, “We’ve jumpstarted our efforts to rescue children who were victims of sex and labor trafficking by working with our state and local law enforcement partners to locate these children. President Trump and Secretary Noem are laser-focused on protecting children and will continue to work with federal, state, and local law enforcement to reunite children with their families.”
The arrests already made by ICE and its 287(g) partners, which DHS listed as examples in a press release, are stomach-turning:
In Arizona:
- ICE arrested a Guinean alien sponsor who had been arrested by Arizona law enforcement for felony aggravated assault.
In Florida:
- ICE arrested a Honduran alien sponsor who had been convicted by Florida authorities for assault.
- ICE arrested a Honduran alien sponsor who had been criminally arrested by Florida law enforcement for larceny, fraud, and counterfeiting.
- ICE arrested a Honduran alien sponsor who had been criminally arrested by Florida law enforcement for attempted robbery with a weapon.
- ICE arrested a Guatemalan alien sponsor who had been arrested by Florida law enforcement for felony hit and run and driving without a license.
In Georgia:
- ICE arrested a Guatemalan alien sponsor who had been convicted of domestic violence by Georgia authorities.
In Maryland:
- ICE arrested a Guatemalan alien sponsor who had been arrested by Maryland law enforcement for rape of the unaccompanied child.
In Massachusetts:
- ICE arrested an Ecuadorian alien sponsor who had been criminally arrested for enticement of a child under 16 and possession of child sexual abuse material.
In Michigan:
- ICE arrested an El Salvadoran alien sponsor who had been convicted for drug trafficking.
In Nevada:
- ICE arrested a Honduran alien sponsor who had been arrested by Nevada law enforcement for assault.
In New Jersey:
- ICE arrested a Guatemalan alien sponsor wanted for attempted aggravated homicide.
In New York:
- ICE arrested a Venezuelan alien sponsor who had been criminally arrested by New York law enforcement for prostitution, possession of marijuana, and failure to appear.
In North Carolina:
- ICE arrested a Guatemalan alien sponsor who had been criminally arrested by North Carolina law enforcement for attempted murder.
In Ohio:
- ICE arrested a Honduran alien sponsor who had been convicted by Ohio authorities for a felony weapon offense.
In Pennsylvania:
- A sponsor had already been removed to Honduras subsequent to an arrest for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
In Texas:
- ICE and local law enforcement arrested a Guatemalan alien sponsor unrelated to the unaccompanied child for human trafficking and statutory rape. The 14-year-old unaccompanied child was pregnant with the sponsor’s baby.
These are not isolated incidents. They are the direct result of the Biden-Harris administration’s refusal to properly vet sponsors or follow up after release.
President Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem have made child trafficking and border security a top priority of the new administration.
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