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Whistleblower Says US in 'Middle Man' in Delivering Migrant Children to Human Traffickers

Edited by: TJVNews.com

The crisis of illegal that has gripped the United States in terms of the issues of crime and the deleterious effects on the economy, has now moved to shockingly ominous level.

According to a recently published report on the FoxNews.com web site, a whistleblower who viewed first-hand what she testified is a “sophisticated network” of child migrant smuggling into forced labor and other forms of slavery is calling on Congress to act to crack down on the U.S. role in that network.

Fox News said in the report on Wednesday that the hearing titled, “The Biden Border Crisis: Exploitation of Unaccompanied Alien Children,” was held by the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security and Enforcement and included Health and Human Services (HHS) whistleblower Tara Lee Rodas as a witness.

Rodas, who was detailed with HHS at an Emergency Intake Site in Pomona, California, told lawmakers about what she experienced on the ground.

“I thought I was going to help place children in loving homes. Instead, I discovered that children are being trafficked through a sophisticated network that begins with recruiting in their home country, smuggled to the U.S. border, and ends when [Office of Refugee Resettlement] delivers a child to a sponsor — some sponsors are criminals and traffickers and members of Transnational Criminal Organizations. Some sponsors view children as commodities and assets to be used for earning income — this is why we are witnessing an explosion of ,” Rodas said, as was reported by Fox News.

According to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) statistics, the number of unaccompanied alien children (UACs) who arrive at the border has swelled from 33,239 in fiscal year 2020 to more than 146,000 in fiscal year 2021 and 152,000 in fiscal year 2022, Fox News reported. So far in fiscal year 2023, there have been more than 70,000 encounters of UACs. The Fox News report said that when child migrants are encountered at the border, they are transferred into the custody of HHS and then united with a sponsor — typically a parent or family member already in the U.S.

A recent series of reports published in the New York Times detail a rise in , where children are forced into the labor force — sometimes to pay back their smuggling costs. Fox News reported that It has led to concerns that, by transporting children to sponsors, the U.S. is involved in . The Times reported how officials reportedly ignored signs of “explosive” growth in the child labor force.

“Whether intentional or not, it could be argued that the U.S. government has become the middleman in a large scale, multibillion-dollar child trafficking operation that is run by bad actors seeking to profit off of the lives of children,” Rodas said, according to the Fox News report.

Rodas described how she saw children becoming captive to their “sponsors” as they couldn't seek help in English or Spanish and sponsors using multiple addresses to obtain sponsorships of children. Rodas said she does not see it as a political issue, but as a humanitarian issue, noting that it has been a crisis going on for nearly 10 years.

“Realizing that we were not offering children the American dream, but instead putting them in modern-day slavery with wicked overlords, was a terrible revelation,” Rodas said, adding that her life “will never be the same” after what she saw.

Republicans have blamed the ongoing crisis on the Biden administration's policies, which they say have encouraged illegal migration and for parents to put their children into the hands of smugglers, Fox News reported.  Democrats have noted that the issue predated the Biden administration, and have pointed to efforts being undertaken to increase oversight of sponsors, along with new task forces, greater information sharing and calls for greater funding.

Fox News also reported that Rodas told lawmakers that “it is my hope you'll take action to end this crisis, to safeguard the lives of these vulnerable children.”

This “Eyes on Trafficking” story is reprinted from its original location.

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PBJ Learning is a leading provider of online human trafficking training, focusing on awareness and prevention education. Their interactive Human Trafficking Essentials is used worldwide to educate professionals and individuals how to recognize human trafficking and how to respond to potential victims. Learn on any web browser (even your mobile phone) at any time.

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EYES ON TRAFFICKING

This “Eyes on Trafficking” story is reprinted from its original online location.

ABOUT PBJ LEARNING

PBJ Learning is a leading provider of online human trafficking training, focusing on awareness and prevention education. Their interactive Human Trafficking Essentials online course is used worldwide to educate professionals and individuals how to recognize human trafficking and how to respond to potential victims. Learn on any web browser (even your mobile phone) at any time.

More stories like this can be found in your PBJ Learning Knowledge Vault.