NYC Mayor Eric Adams raises concerns over 500,000 missing migrant children, fears exploitation
The mayor of New York City is drawing attention to the hundreds of thousands of missing migrant children trafficked into the United States amid the surge of illegal immigration under the Biden administration.
During a press conference Thursday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams declared, "We have 500,000 children who had sponsors in this country that we can’t find."
"We don’t know if they’re doing child labor. We don’t know if they’re doing sex crimes," he added. "We don’t know if they’re being exploited."
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NYC Mayor Eric Adams speaks out on the illegal immigration crisis:
— The American Conservative (@amconmag) December 12, 2024
“We have 500,000 children who have sponsors in this country that we can't find.”pic.twitter.com/2YDQnoxBxz
Adams’ remarks followed a meeting with Tom Homan, whom President-elect Donald Trump has designated as the border czar in his forthcoming administration. The statistics and concerns shared by Adams refer to findings of a report compiled by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General finding that “ICE Cannot Monitor All Unaccompanied Migrant Children Released from DHS and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Custody.”
The report, published in August, states that “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could not monitor the location and status of all unaccompanied migrant children (UCs) or initiate removal proceedings as needed.” Data compiled in the report reveals that DHS transferred the custody of 448,000 unaccompanied illegal immigrant children to the custody of HHS’ Office of Refugee Resettlement Services (ORR) between 2019 and 2023.
ORR, which is responsible for caring for illegal immigrant children awaiting immigration court proceedings, places children in the care of shelters or qualified sponsors. Even after the minors are turned over to HHS, ICE retains the responsibility to manage their immigration court proceedings.
While 32,000 unaccompanied illegal immigrant children failed to appear for their immigration court hearings to determine whether they had a valid claim to remain in the country, the report estimates that the number of unaccompanied children unaccounted for could be even higher, as more than 291,000 minors have not received Notices to Appear that inform them of their court dates.
“Based on our audit work and according to ICE officials, UCs who do not appear for court are considered at higher risk for trafficking, exploitation, or forced labor,” the report noted. “By not issuing NTAs to all UCs, ICE limits its chances of having contact with UCs when they are released from HHS’ custody, which reduces opportunities to verify their safety. Without an ability to monitor the location and status of UCs, ICE has no assurance UCs are safe from trafficking, exploitation, or forced labor.”
The report attributed the large number of illegal immigrant children unaccounted for in the U.S. to a failure to communicate between ICE and HHS as well as limited authority by ICE to intervene in cases where they find unaccompanied illegal immigrant children in unsafe conditions.
A hearing held by the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement last month raised questions about the federal government’s process for vetting sponsors. A Florida grand jury report that found the Biden administration facilitated “the forced migration, sale, and abuse of foreign children” also came up at the hearing.
The Florida grand jury detailed how sponsors purportedly offering to take care of the children used strip clubs as an address and the aunt of one unaccompanied minor “pimped out” her relative. The findings of the grand jury report compound whistleblower reports alleging that the Biden administration has failed to vet sponsors of unaccompanied illegal immigrant children.
The concerns about the safety of unaccompanied illegal immigrant children occur in the context of a large surge of illegal immigration at the U.S. southwest border. Data compiled by U.S. Customs and Border Protection show that since the beginning of fiscal year 2022, which marked the Biden administration’s first full year in office, there have been more than 7 million encounters between migrants and law enforcement officials at the border.
The meeting between Adams, a Democrat, and Homan comes as the Big Apple has continued to embrace its status as a sanctuary city that does not cooperate with federal immigration law enforcement as recently as last week.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
