Letter to Joseph Biden, President - Congressman Gooden Presses Biden-Harris Administration on Plan for Migrant Children

Letter

Dear President Biden,

We are seeking clarification on the Biden-Harris Administration's plan to address the
humanitarian crisis at our southern border. Specifically, we are concerned the administration's
current position is incentivizing human trafficking of children. Since January, the Biden-Harris
Administration has encountered over 65,536 unaccompanied alien children (UAC) at the southern
border--a 140% increase from the same period last year. Additionally, the Department of
Homeland Security expects another 26,000 unaccompanied alien children who will be
apprehended entering illegally by this September. Of the 21,000i children in your administration's
custody as of May 21 , over 2,121 of those children were previously expelled with their families
but have now crossed the border alone. ii In February, open border policies allowed traffickers to
profit approximately $14.6 million a day totaling $411.5 million in one month alone iii.

It is clear something must be done to stop the flow of illegal immigrants being trafficked across
our southern border. In 2014, the Department of Health and Human Services placed a number of
UACs in the hands of a ring of human traffickers who forced them to work 12-hour days with little
to no pay on egg farms in and around Marion, Ohio iv. Since January, your administration has
released at least 22,000 UACs with little oversight, and 55% of them were not released to a parent or legal guardian v. It is important your administration send a clear message for parents not to send their children here illegally, so they do not fall into the hands of human traffickers.

While we wait for your administration to act, we request a response to the following questions
to prevent human trafficking at our southern border:
1. Does your administration have a plan in place to prevent children from being placed in
the hands of human traffickers and drug cartels when crossing the southern border?
2. Does your administration have a plan in place to disincentive illegal immigration at our
southern border?
3. According to your administration, 60% of unaccompanied children are being released in
the United States to a family member who is not a parent or legal guardian, and 20% of
the time, the child is released to someone who is not a family member at all. If these
children are being released to non-family members or guardians, who are they being
released to and what measure do you have in place to ensure their safety?
a. Please clarify, how many UACs have been released in the United States since
January 20, 2021?
b. What is the immigration status of the individuals that UACs are being released to
in the United States?
c. How many UACs has your administration placed in state licensed Office of
Refugee Resettlement-funded care providers?
4. How many unaccompanied children has the Biden-Harris Administration deported?
a. Does your administration intend to continue deporting unaccompanied children?
b. Who are the deported unaccompanied children being released to and what
safeguards does your administration have in place to ensure their wellbeing?

It is our hope your administration will secure our southern border and work in a bipartisan
manner to reform our broken immigration system and protect innocent children. We look forward
to your prompt reply and willingness to address the crisis at our southern border.

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