Thousands of migrant kids missing according to watchdog report, GOP senator slams DHS: 'reckless disregard'

FIRST ON FOX: A top Republican senator, who has been challenging the Biden administration for years on the subject of missing migrant children, is slamming what she says is a "reckless disregard" after a watchdog revealed that officials have lost track of tens of thousands of migrant children.

"I write today to express my grave concern regarding a recent Office of Inspector General (OIG) report that found severe mismanagement with respect to the safety and well-being of unaccompanied migrant children (UCs). Specifically, on your department’s watch, tens of thousands of migrant children are now missing—leaving them highly vulnerable to human trafficking and exploitation. This, unfortunately, is just the latest failure of the Biden-Harris border crisis that continues to unfold," Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., wrote in a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Her letter comes after the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General sent a report to Congress finding that over the past five years, more than 32,000 unaccompanied migrant children [UCs] did not show for immigration court hearings, and that Immigration and Customs Enforcement could not account for the location of all of those who did not appear. 

ICE LOST TRACK OF TENS OF THOUSANDS OF MIGRANT KIDS, DHS INSPECTOR GENERAL FINDS

"During our ongoing audit to assess ICE’s ability to monitor the location and status of UCs who were released or transferred from the custody of the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), we learned ICE transferred more than 448,000 UCs to HHS from fiscal years 2019 to 2023," the internal watchdog reported. 

"However, ICE was not able to account for the location of all UCs who were released by HHS and did not appear as scheduled in immigration court. ICE reported more than 32,000 UCs failed to appear for their immigration court hearings from FYs 2019 to 2023," it said,

The numbers could be even worse than documented — according to the watchdog's findings, approximately 291,000 unaccompanied migrant children have not yet been marked for removal proceedings, because ICE has routinely failed to schedule immigration court dates and serve notices.

HHS CHIEF ‘UNFAMILIAR’ WITH REPORTS THAT AGENCY CAN'T CONTACT 85,000 UNACCOMPANIED MIGRANT KIDS  

Blackburn, in her letter, noted her prior grillings of HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra on a prior report that HHS has lost track of around 85,000 migrant children.

"I have inquired for more information from Secretary Becerra—to no avail—about that unconscionable failure," she said. "The American people, and the families of these hundreds of thousands of children, deserve answers about your reckless disregard for the well-being of the children in your care and what your department is doing to address these failures."

Blackburn asked the officials what steps they are taking to resolve the issues raised in the report, and whether ICE has a reliable means of monitoring the location of unaccompanied minors.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

Responding to the report itself, an ICE spokesperson said that it is committed to the protection and well-being of children, but while it concurs with the IG’s recommendations, "we are concerned that the report’s findings are misleading and may be misconstrued because they fail to acknowledge key facts."

"In general, ICE does not issue Notices to Appear (NTAs) to unaccompanied children until after they have been placed with sponsors who have been vetted by HHS. This gives them time to get settled in their new surroundings and provides them with an opportunity to consult with legal counsel. Unaccompanied children are entitled to certain procedural protections under our laws and, in many cases, may be eligible for immigration relief with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), instead of in the immigration court system," they said.

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ICE will currently file an NTA 120s days after they are issued, unless they are released from HHS care to a vetted sponsor prior to that time. Doing so, ICE says, allows them to seek legal representation and immigration relief and prevents further backlog in the immigration system.

"If they are ineligible for relief, USCIS will issue an NTA. Since last year, ICE has taken steps to automate information sharing related to unaccompanied children’s attendance at immigration court proceedings. We will continue to improve these procedures and implement the OIG’s recommendations," they added.

Fox News' Timothy Nerozzi contributed to this report.