U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., subpoenaed U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to appear before the committee this week and provide answers on agency oversight of hundreds of thousands of “unaccompanied alien children” (UACs).
The subpoena was sent after the Green says HHS failed to respond and comply with committee requests for documents and information and received 700 pages of content “wholly unresponsive to the committee’s request.
On Aug. 12, 2024, Green sent a letter to Robin Dunn Marcos, director of HHS’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), requesting information about ORR’s alleged mishandling of UACs after multiple reports of allegations of abuse and neglect have been lodged over the years. A Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General report identified alleged neglect and abuse of UACs, sponsors not being vetted and losing track of over 100,000 children. Another report found alleged child labor abuse; another concluded, “Without an ability to monitor the location and status of UCs, ICE has no assurance UCs are safe from trafficking, exploitation, or forced labor.”
Green requested information on ORR’s sponsor screening process, the monthly number of UACs placed with sponsors, how many sponsors had been “charged with or convicted of any crime or investigated for the physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, or abandonment of a child,” how many provided false information, among other information.
