{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/2024/8/issues/immigration/blackburn-presses-dhs-and-ice-on-new-report-revealing-they-may-have-lost-track-of-more-than-300k-unaccompanied-migrant-children", "Blackburn Presses DHS and ICE on New Report Revealing They May Have Lost Track of More than 300K Unaccompanied Migrant Children", "2024-08-29", "2024", "2024-08", "Republican", "Senate", "TN", "Marsha Blackburn", "B001243", "www.blackburn.senate.gov", "blackburn", "https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/news/cc8c80c1-d564-4bbb-93a4-f1d772346ae0", "scraper", "NASHVILLE, Tenn. \u2013 U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) sent a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Patrick Lechleitner demanding answers as to why ICE lost track of at least 32,000 unaccompanied migrant children (UCs) and may have lost track of up to 323,000 UCs, according to a new report released by the DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG).\n\nAlthough the OIG report confirms that ICE lost track of at least 32,000 UCs who failed to appear for their immigration court hearings, the agency may have lost track of an additional 291,000 UCs who were not placed in removal proceedings and were never given a court date. Thus, because ICE has no formal policy in place to follow up with UCs who did not appear in court, the total number of children the Department has lost track of is likely significantly higher.\n\nNew Report Reveals ICE Lost Track of at Least 32,000 Unaccompanied Migrant Children \u2013 Leaving Them Vulnerable to Human Trafficking and Exploitation\n\n\u201cOn your department\u2019s watch, tens of thousands of migrant children are now missing\u2014leaving them highly vulnerable to human trafficking and exploitation. This, unfortunately, is just the latest failure of the Biden-Harris border crisis that continues to unfold\u2026 According to this devastating report, over the last five years, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lost track of more than 32,000 UCs.\u201d\n\nICE May Have Lost an Additional 291,000 Children\n\n\u201cJust as disturbing, it appears that the number of missing migrant children could very well be far greater than 32,000. Over the course of five years, ICE transferred more than 448,000 UCs to the custody of HHS, with more than 32,000 of those children failing to appear for their immigration court dates. As the report notes, the number of missing children may be much higher, as ICE failed to issue Notices to Appear (NTAs) to more than 291,000 UCs who were not placed in removal proceedings. In other words, because these hundreds of thousands of children were not served NTAs, they did not have a court date, and \u2018ICE has not developed a formal policy or process to follow up on UCs who did not appear in court.\u2019\u201d\n\nICE Failed in its Most Basic Duty to Keep Children Safe\n\n\u201cIt is ICE\u2019s duty to safely transfer UCs to HHS after they are initially taken into custody by border agents\u2014as well as to manage and monitor their immigration cases. Yet, it is plain to me that you have failed in your most basic duty to keep these children safe from harm, as the OIG report found that ICE has failed to track the whereabouts of thousands of children who have been released or transferred from ICE\u2019s custody.\u201d\n\nBiden Admin Has Devastating Track Record of Failing to Protect Unaccompanied Migrant Children \u2013 HHS Previously Lost Track of at Least 85,000 UCs\n\n\u201cThis tragedy is not surprising given the Biden-Harris administration\u2019s past failures with respect to the well-being and safety of migrant children. As you know, the Biden HHS lost track of at least 85,000 migrant children who they are charged with protecting, and the whereabouts of those children are still unknown. I have inquired for more information from Secretary Becerra\u2014to no avail\u2014about that unconscionable failure. The American people, and the families of these hundreds of thousands of children, deserve answers about your reckless disregard for the well-being of the children in your care and what your department is doing to address these failures.\u201d\n\nBACKGROUND:\n\nIt is ICE\u2019s responsibility to safely transfer UCs to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) after they are initially taken into custody by border agents. According to a recent report released by the DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG), ICE lost track of more than 32,000 UCs who failed to appear for their immigration court hearings from Fiscal Year 2019 to 2023.\n\nEven worse, the number of missing children may actually be much higher, as ICE failed to issue Notices to Appear (NTAs) to more than 291,000 UCs who were not placed in removal proceedings \u2013 meaning they did not have a court date. Therefore, ICE may have lost as many as 323,000 UCs who either failed to appear for their immigration court hearings or were never given a court date. The report states that ICE \u201chas not developed a formal policy or process to follow up on UCs who did not appear in court.\u201d\n\nLast year, bombshell reporting also revealed HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra ignored the concerns of HHS staffers and outside contractors about the potential exploitation of 85,000 children who went missing under his department\u2019s watch. Secretary Becerra has refused to provide more information about this devastating failure, despite Senator Blackburn\u2019s repeated requests.\n\nRELATED:\n\nREAD: Blackburn Puts HHS On Blast: \u2018Nothing Compassionate About Turning A Blind Eye To The Victimization Of Children\u2019\n\nWATCH: Senator Blackburn Presses Becerra Over Losing Migrant Children Coming Into The U.S.\n\nREAD: Blackburn Slams HHS Over Missing Migrant Children Response, Demands Honesty", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:36:13Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/2024/8/issues/immigration/blackburn-presses-dhs-and-ice-on-new-report-revealing-they-may-have-lost-track-of-more-than-300k-unaccompanied-migrant-children"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.1391077898442745, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}