DHS criticized by GOP senator for 'reckless disregard' over thousands of missing migrant kids, watchdog report reveals.

A top Republican senator has criticized the Biden administration for its "reckless disregard" after a watchdog revealed that officials have lost track of tens of thousands of migrant children.

In a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., expressed her grave concern about the severe mismanagement of unaccompanied migrant children (UCs) by the Office of Inspector General (OIG). Specifically, she pointed out that on her 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.

The Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General sent a report to Congress stating that over the past five years, more than 32,000 unaccompanied migrant children (UCs) did not attend their immigration court hearings, and that Immigration and Customs Enforcement was unable to locate all those who did not appear.

According to the internal watchdog, during our ongoing audit to evaluate ICE's capacity to monitor the location and condition of UCs who were released or transferred from the custody of DHS and HHS, we discovered that ICE transferred over 448,000 UCs to HHS between fiscal years 2019 and 2023.

Despite ICE's efforts, it was unable to track the whereabouts of all UCs who were released by HHS and did not show up for their scheduled immigration court appearances. ICE reported that over 32,000 UCs failed to appear for their immigration court hearings during the FYs 2019 to 2023.

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.

In her letter, Blackburn mentioned her previous confrontations with HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra regarding a report stating that HHS has misplaced approximately 85,000 migrant children.

"I have asked Secretary Becerra for more information about the unconscionable failure, but I have not received any response. The American people and the families of the hundreds of thousands of children affected by your department's reckless disregard for their well-being deserve answers about what steps are being taken to address these failures."

What measures are the officials taking to address the concerns in the report, and does ICE have a dependable method for tracking the whereabouts of unaccompanied minors?

An ICE spokesperson stated that while they agree with the IG's recommendations, they are concerned that the report's findings may be misleading due to their failure to acknowledge important facts.

ICE typically does not issue Notices to Appear (NTAs) to unaccompanied children until after they have been placed with vetted sponsors, allowing them time to adjust to their new environment and consult with legal counsel. Unaccompanied children are entitled to certain legal protections and may be eligible for immigration relief with USCIS instead of going through the immigration court system.

ICE will file an NTA 120 days after issuance unless they are released to a vetted sponsor prior to that time, allowing them to seek legal representation and immigration relief, and preventing further backlog in the immigration system.

USCIS will issue an NTA if they are ineligible for relief. ICE has automated information sharing related to unaccompanied children's attendance at immigration court proceedings. They will continue to improve these procedures and implement the OIG's recommendations.

Planet Chronicle' Timothy Nerozzi contributed to this report.