Durbin, Padilla Ask Secretary Becerra For Answers Regarding Reports That Warnings Of Threats To The Safety And Well-Being Of Unaccompanied Migrant Children Were Dismissed

Press Release

"As Chairs of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety, it is our responsibility to conduct oversight over implementation of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) and ensure that HHS is meeting its legal obligations under that Act with respect to the care and protection of unaccompanied children.

We also appreciate the challenges your agencies have faced at the border with the influx of unaccompanied minors crossing the border in recent years, as well as ORR [Office of Refugee Resettlement]'s ongoing efforts to provide care and timely release for children in their custody. The Committee is tasked with ensuring that HHS is meeting its legal obligations to protect the safety and well-being of our most vulnerable recent arrivals. Oversight of the placement and care of unaccompanied children is particularly necessary today, as some states are loosening child labor laws and others are refusing to ensure that unaccompanied children have any mechanisms to report exploitation, abuse, or trafficking."

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