In a startling revelation, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has accused the department, under the Biden administration, of being complicit in child trafficking. Kennedy asserted that HHS acted as a “collaborator in child trafficking for sex and slavery” during the previous administration.
He further announced an aggressive initiative to locate approximately 300,000 unaccompanied minors who were reportedly lost by the Biden administration.
“We have ended HHS’s role as the principal vector in this country for child trafficking,” Kennedy stated during a recent cabinet meeting. “We’re very aggressively going out and trying to find these children—300,000 children that were lost by the Biden administration.”
The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), a division within HHS, is responsible for the care and placement of unaccompanied minors who enter the United States. During the Biden administration, concerns were raised about the department’s ability to track these children after their release to sponsors.
A Department of Homeland Security report from August 2024 indicated that 32,000 unaccompanied minors missed immigration court hearings, and an additional 291,000 did not receive court notices.
Critics argue that these figures reflect bureaucratic challenges rather than intentional misconduct. Immigration advocates have cited paperwork problems and communication breakdowns as contributing factors to the inability to track some minors.
However, Kennedy and other Trump administration officials maintain that the lack of oversight may have led to vulnerable children falling into the hands of traffickers.
In response to these concerns, the Trump administration has implemented reforms aimed at improving the tracking and vetting processes for unaccompanied minors. This includes rescinding a Biden-era rule that hindered immigration oversight, allowing authorities to share immigration information more effectively. The policy change is intended to aid efforts to track unaccompanied minors and ensure their safety.
Additionally, HHS has ceased funding for certain programs that were criticized for inadequate oversight. For instance, the department ended contracts with organizations that provided legal assistance to migrant children, citing concerns about the effectiveness and accountability of these programs.
While some experts and fact-checkers have challenged the claims of widespread trafficking, the Trump administration remains committed to investigating and addressing any potential failures in the system. As Kennedy emphasized, the goal is to ensure that all children under the care of HHS are protected and accounted for, preventing any future instances of exploitation or abuse.
The initiative to locate the missing 300,000 minors is ongoing, with HHS collaborating with other federal agencies to enhance tracking mechanisms and improve the overall care system for unaccompanied children. The administration’s efforts underscore a broader commitment to child welfare and the eradication of human trafficking within the United States.
