[House Hearing, 117 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN AT THE BORDER: FEDERAL RESPONSE AND THE WAY
FORWARD
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON
BORDER SECURITY, FACILITATION,
AND OPERATIONS
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
JUNE 10, 2021
__________
Serial No. 117-16
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Homeland Security
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
45-194 PDF WASHINGTON : 2021
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi, Chairman
Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas John Katko, New York
James R. Langevin, Rhode Island Michael T. McCaul, Texas
Donald M. Payne, Jr., New Jersey Clay Higgins, Louisiana
J. Luis Correa, California Michael Guest, Mississippi
Elissa Slotkin, Michigan Dan Bishop, North Carolina
Emanuel Cleaver, Missouri Jefferson Van Drew, New Jersey
Al Green, Texas Ralph Norman, South Carolina
Yvette D. Clarke, New York Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Iowa
Eric Swalwell, California Diana Harshbarger, Tennessee
Dina Titus, Nevada Andrew S. Clyde, Georgia
Bonnie Watson Coleman, New Jersey Carlos A. Gimenez, Florida
Kathleen M. Rice, New York Jake LaTurner, Kansas
Val Butler Demings, Florida Peter Meijer, Michigan
Nanette Diaz Barragan, California Kat Cammack, Florida
Josh Gottheimer, New Jersey August Pfluger, Texas
Elaine G. Luria, Virginia Andrew R. Garbarino, New York
Tom Malinowski, New Jersey
Ritchie Torres, New York
Hope Goins, Staff Director
Daniel Kroese, Minority Staff Director
Natalie Nixon, Clerk
------
SUBCOMMITTEE ON BORDER SECURITY, FACILITATION, AND OPERATIONS
Nanette Diaz Barragan, California, Chairwoman
J. Luis Correa, California Clay Higgins, Louisiana, Ranking
Emanuel Cleaver, Missouri Member
Al Green, Texas Michael Guest, Mississippi
Yvette D. Clarke, New York Dan Bishop, North Carolina
Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi (ex Andrew S. Clyde, Georgia
officio) John Katko, New York (ex officio)
Brieana Marticorena, Subcommittee Staff Director
Vacancy, Minority Subcommittee Staff Director
Zachary Wood, Subcommittee Clerk
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
Statements
The Honorable Nanette Diaz Barragan, a Representative in Congress
From the State of California, and Chairwoman, Subcommittee on
Border Security, Facilitation, and Operations:
Oral Statement................................................. 1
Prepared Statement............................................. 3
The Honorable Clay Higgins, a Representative in Congress From the
State of Louisiana, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Border
Security, Facilitation, and Operations:
Oral Statement................................................. 4
Prepared Statement............................................. 5
The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson, a Representative in Congress
From the State of Mississippi, and Chairman, Committee on
Homeland Security:
Oral Statement................................................. 15
Prepared Statement............................................. 16
The Honorable John Katko, a Representative in Congress From the
State of New York, and Ranking Member, Committee on Homeland
Security:
Oral Statement................................................. 6
Prepared Statement............................................. 8
Witnesses
Mr. David Shahoulian, Assistant Secretary for Border Security and
Immigration, U.S. Department of Homeland Security:
Oral Statement................................................. 9
Prepared Statement............................................. 11
Mr. Benjamine ``Carry'' Huffman, Executive Assistant
Commissioner, Enterprise Services, U.S. Customs and Border
Protection:
Oral Statement................................................. 17
Prepared Statement............................................. 19
Ms. Katherine Dueholm, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Western Hemisphere Affairs, U.S. Department of State:
Oral Statement................................................. 23
Prepared Statement............................................. 24
Mr. Patrick J. Lechleitner, Acting Executive Associate Director,
Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, U.S. Department of Homeland Security:
Oral Statement................................................. 26
Prepared Statement............................................. 27
UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN AT THE BORDER: FEDERAL RESPONSE AND THE WAY
FORWARD
----------
Thursday, June 10, 2021
U.S. House of Representatives,
Committee on Homeland Security,
Subcommittee on Border Security,
Facilitation, and Operations,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2 p.m., via
Webex, Hon. Nanette Diaz Barragan [Chairwoman of the
subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Barragan, Correa, Cleaver, Green,
Clarke, Higgins, Bishop, and Clyde.
Also present: Representatives Katko and Thompson.
Chairwoman Barragan. The Subcommittee on Border Security,
Facilitation, and Operations will come to order.
The subcommittee is meeting to hear Federal Government
perspectives on addressing the challenge of unaccompanied
children arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Today's hearing is a follow-up to this subcommittee's April
hearing. We examined the care of unaccompanied children in
Federal custody and received recommendations from non-
governmental stakeholders on the way forward. As we heard in
April, both Democratic and Republican administrations have been
confronted with the challenge of unaccompanied children
arriving from Mexico, Central America, and farther abroad.
Migrants, including migrant children, take the perilous
journey north to escape unspeakable conditions and dangers at
home. Just yesterday, CBP released its operational update for
May, showing that CBP is encountering record numbers of
migrants at our Southern Border. Many are fleeing from gang
violence and threats to their lives, as well as natural
disasters that have devastated their home countries. The
pandemic has exacerbated these conditions.
While the vast majority are single adults, who attempt to
enter the United States again and again, the number of families
and children seeking assistance remains high. However, it is
important to put these numbers into context. While more
encounters are happening at our border than in previous years,
CBP encountered fewer individual people last month than during
the last influx in May 2019 under the Trump administration. In
addition, CBP encountered about 40,000 more children and
families in May 2019 than they did last month. Encounters with
children and families continue to decrease.
Nonetheless, building the capacity to humanely process
those arriving at our border remains a challenge. As we move
forward, we must remember that the children, in particular, are
extremely vulnerable. We must ensure they have access to all
available legal protections here in the United States, as well
as examine ways to provide protections closer to home. This is
why I am pleased to have witnesses from the Department of
Homeland Security and the Department of State before us to
testify on the administration's efforts to provide humane care
and protections for unaccompanied children.
Over the last few months, the Biden administration has
ramped up efforts to quickly transfer children from Customs and
Border Protection custody to the Department of Health and Human
Services. The Biden administration has also rapidly built
capacity at DHS, particularly CBP, to provide proper care for
migrant children. Capacity building has included the hiring of
dozens of Border Patrol processing coordinators to help with
the care, custody, and processing of children, along with
expanding the Department's medical contract and contract for
child care services.
While not present today, I would also like to highlight the
extraordinary work of Health and Human Services in quickly
expanding their capacity to receive unaccompanied kids.
Coordination has also improved across the interagency, helping
expedite the processing and placement of children at our
Southern Border. Finally, the Department of State has also been
working to build the capacity of our neighbors to protect these
children at home. Their works includes restarting the Central
American Minors program that allows children to seek
protections within their home country, supporting efforts to
root out corruption within foreign governments, and overseeing
investments into job training and other programs designed to
help women and youth. However, I remain concerned with the
initial delay of these efforts, which resulted in thousands of
children being held in CBP custody for days, and sometimes
weeks.
The Department of Homeland Security saw signs of influx
building as early as April 2020. Under the Trump
administration, the Department apparently ignored these warning
signs and chose not to build the capacity needed to safely
process and care for vulnerable migrants. Thankfully, the
Biden-Harris administration has taken swift, whole-of-
Government action. But we must be prepared to handle not only
the current influx, but also implement long-term solutions to
the challenge. We do not want to be faced with the same
challenge again in 5 years.
We must work together to create humane and effective border
policies that prioritize the treatment of people in Federal
Government custody. It is our legal and moral duty to ensure
these children, no matter where they come from, are treated
humanely and have full access to protections guaranteed them
under law. While we have seen impressive progress over the last
few months, there is no doubt more needs to be done. I look
forward to hearing today from the witnesses, from the
administration on the efforts to respond to this challenge.
[The statement of Chairwoman Barragan follows:]
Statement of Chairwoman Nanette Diaz Barragan
June 10, 2021
Today's hearing is a follow-up to this subcommittee's April
hearing. We examined the care of unaccompanied children in Federal
custody and received recommendations from non-Governmental stakeholders
on the way forward. As we heard in April, both Democratic and
Republican administrations have been confronted with the challenge of
unaccompanied children arriving from Mexico, Central America, and
farther abroad.
Migrants, including migrant children, take the perilous journey
north to escape unspeakable conditions and dangers at home. Just
yesterday, CBP released its operational update for May, showing that
CBP is encountering record numbers of migrants at our Southern Border.
Many are fleeing from gang violence and threats to their lives, as well
as natural disasters that have devastated their home countries. The
pandemic has exacerbated these conditions.
While the vast majority are single adults, who attempt to enter the
United States again and again, the number of families and children
seeking assistance remains high. However, it's important to put these
numbers into context. While more encounters are happening at our border
than in previous years, CBP encountered fewer individual people last
month than during the last influx in May 2019--under the Trump
administration. In addition, CBP encountered about 40,000 more children
and families in May 2019 than they did last month. Encounters with
children and families continue to decrease.
Nevertheless, building the capacity to humanely process those
arriving at our border remains a challenge. As we move forward, we must
remember that the children, in particular, are extremely vulnerable. We
must ensure they have access to all available legal protections here in
the United States, as well as examine ways to provide protections
closer to home. That is why I am pleased to have witnesses from the
Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State before us
to testify on the administration's efforts to provide humane care and
protections for unaccompanied children.
Over the last few months, the Biden administration has ramped up
efforts to quickly transfer children from Customs and Border Protection
(CBP) custody to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The
Biden administration has also rapidly built capacity at DHS,
particularly CBP, to provide proper care for migrant children. Capacity
building has included the hiring of dozens of Border Patrol Processing
Coordinators to help with the care, custody, and processing of
children, along with expanding the Department's medical contract and
contract for child care services.
While not present today, I'd also like to highlight the
extraordinary work of Health and Human Services in quickly expanding
their capacity to receive unaccompanied kids. Coordination has also
improved across the interagency, helping expedite the processing and
placement of children at our Southern Border. Finally, the Department
of State has also been working to build the capacity of our neighbors
to protect these children at home. Their works includes restarting the
Central American Minors program that allows children to seek
protections within their home country, supporting efforts to root out
corruption within foreign governments, and overseeing investments into
job training and other programs designed to help women and youth.
However, I remain concerned with the initial delay of these efforts,
which resulted in thousands of children being held in CBP custody for
days, and sometimes weeks.
The Department of Homeland Security saw signs of influx building as
early as April 2020. Under the Trump administration, the Department
apparently ignored these warning signs and chose not to build the
capacity needed to safely process and care for vulnerable migrants.
Thankfully the Biden-Harris administration has taken swift, whole-of-
Government action. But we must be prepared to handle not only the
current influx, but also implement long-term solutions to the
challenge. We do not want to be faced with the same challenge again in
5 years.
We must work together to create humane and effective border
policies that prioritize the treatment of people in Federal Government
custody. It is our legal and moral duty to ensure that children, no
matter where they come from, are treated humanely and have full access
to protections guaranteed them under law. While we've seen impressive
progress over the last few months, there is no doubt more that needs to
be done. I look forward to hearing the witnesses' testimony on the
administration's efforts to respond to this challenge.
Chairwoman Barragan. Now, I would like to recognize the
Ranking Member of the subcommittee, Mr. Higgins of Louisiana,
for an opening statement.
Mr. Higgins. Today, in this important hearing, I would like
to attempt to frame this for Americans that are observing this
hearing.
The current crisis at our Southwest Border is worse than
the migrant surges in both 2014 and 2019. I would like to touch
on appropriations. Both of those surges resulted in emergency
supplemental funding from Congress. We have yet to receive such
a request during this current surge and crisis, despite the
fact that on trips to the border Members have heard about fast-
depleting resources at Border Patrol facilities. I have serious
concerns that funds appropriated by Congress for National
security are being rerouted to address a humanitarian crisis at
the border without being properly replenished.
Vice President Harris was appointed to lead efforts to stop
the crisis at the border. However, she has yet to witness what
is happening first-hand. President Biden has yet to visit the
border or facilities holding unaccompanied minors, a topic of
discussion for today, part of the humanitarian crisis. We will
cover it in depth today. Since his inauguration, our President
has not been there.
Interviews with Border Patrol agents have resulted in the
reasonable acceptance of the simple fact that migrants are
directly responding to the Biden administration's policies. It
is why they are getting in the pipeline.
So I would like to frame this for America. The Biden
campaign messages to his base became the Biden-White House
policies that we are witnessing right now. The cartels began
filling their pipeline to maximum capacity last year about
November. We are now well into 2021. Every illegal immigrant
that is in the pipeline right now has arranged their passage
and paid for their passage through that pipeline, that illegal
pipeline of human beings and drugs. They put themselves in that
pipeline since the Biden administration was inaugurated and
certainly since November of last year.
So what we are witnessing right now is layers of crisis. We
are discussing the humanitarian crisis today and we will get
into it in-depth, unaccompanied children. But we have a
National sovereignty crisis as well. We have lost the
sovereignty and control of our Southern Border. We must
maintain our sovereignty as a Nation or all can be lost. The
humanitarian crisis is in the focus right now, and it should be
because we are a loving, compassionate, generous Nation, and we
must deal with the sorrow and the pain and the extreme hardship
that these children of God are facing as they come into our
country illegally. But we have to do this with a balance
enforcing our laws.
We have a Constitutional crisis because we have a Federal
Government that is mandating to our sovereign States and
interfering with the enforcement of their own laws and their
own law to protect their own sovereignty. We have a criminal
crisis because the percentage of getaways has increased as law
enforcement has been overwhelmed at the border. These are
numbers that are only estimated. They cannot be accurately
assessed but our best measure is that it is higher than it has
been in modern history. The illegal immigrants that want to
escape Border Patrol are the ones generally that are criminally
involved with drug trafficking and human trafficking. So we
have a criminal crisis that we are dealing with.
Our committee certainly has a responsibility, and let me
clarify it for the people, this committee has a duty to force
action from the Executive branch where we feel that its
policies are lacking or injurious. This is true at any time
regardless of what party is in power.
I look forward to bipartisan solutions. I respect our
Chairwoman's leadership and I envision a bipartisan endeavor
here that will result in actual answers for the American people
because they certainly deserve it.
Madam Chair, I yield.
[The statement of Ranking Member Higgins follows:]
Statement of Ranking Member Clay Higgins
Thank you, Madam Chair, for holding this important hearing. I'd
like to attempt to frame this for Americans that are observing this
hearing.
The current crisis at our Southwest Border is worse than the
migrant surges in both 2014 and 2019, both of those surges resulted in
emergency supplemental funding from Congress. We have yet to receive
such a request this time around, however, during a trip to the border,
Members heard about the fast-depleting resources at Border Patrol
facilities. I have serious concerns that funds appropriated by Congress
for National security are being rerouted to address the humanitarian
crisis at the border without being properly replenished.
Vice President Harris was appointed to lead efforts to stop the
crisis at the border, however she has yet to go down and witness what
is happening first-hand. President Biden has also yet to visit the
border or facilities holding unaccompanied minors since his
inauguration.
Interviews with Border Patrol agents have resulted in reasonable
acceptance of the fact that migrants are directly responding to the
Biden administration's policies. It's why they're getting in the
pipelines.
I'd like to frame this for America. The Biden campaign's messages
to their base became Biden White House policies that we're witnessing
right now. The cartels began filling their pipeline to maximum capacity
last year, back in November. We're now well into 2021. Every illegal
immigrant that's in the pipeline right now has arranged their passage
through that pipeline--an illegal pipeline of human beings and drugs.
They put themselves in that pipeline since the Biden administration was
inaugurated and certainly since November of last year.
What we're witnessing right now is layers of crisis. We're
discussing the humanitarian crisis today. We have a National
sovereignty crisis as well. We have lost the sovereignty and control of
our Southern Border. We must maintain our sovereignty as a Nation or
all can be lost.
The humanitarian crisis is in the focus right now and it should be
because we're a loving, compassionate, generous Nation, and we must
deal with the sorrow, pain, and extreme hardship that these children
are facing as they come into our country illegally. But we have to do
this with a balance enforcing our laws.
We have a Constitutional crisis. We have a Federal Government
that's mandating to our sovereign States and interfering with their own
laws and their own right to protect their own sovereignty.
We have a criminal crisis. The percentage of gotaways has increased
as law enforcement has been overwhelmed at the border. The numbers are
only estimated; they can't be accurately assessed, but our best measure
is that it's higher than it's been in modern history. The illegal
immigrants that want to escape Border Patrol are the ones generally
that are criminally involved with drug trafficking or human
trafficking.
This committee has a duty to force action from the Executive branch
when we feel that its policies are lacking or injurious. This is true
at any time regardless of which party is in power. I look forward to
bipartisan solutions. I respect our Chairwoman's leadership, and I
envision a bipartisan endeavor here that will result in actual answers
for the American people because they certainly deserve them.
Chairwoman Barragan. I thank the Ranking Member.
I do take issue, unfortunately, with your description of an
illegal pipeline of human beings and drugs, and hopefully, that
will be a conversation we can have with our witnesses. These
are people and these are people that are coming to make use of
asylum laws that we have in this country. That is legal to do.
So hopefully, Mr. Ranking Member----
Mr. Higgins. Will the gentlelady yield for a one-sentence
response?
Chairwoman Barragan. Yes.
Mr. Higgins. Yes, ma'am. The pipeline, the cartel pipeline
as it has commonly been referred to for a couple of decades as
a human and drug trafficking pipeline. It runs from Venezuela
through Colombia, the Darien Gap, Panama, Central America,
Mexico, to our Southern Border. That is the pipeline. Nothing
passes without paying a cartel. Human beings and drugs. So my
commitment to a passionate response to the children of God that
are suffering and crossing our Southern Border illegally has
been well-stated.
Chairwoman Barragan. Well, Mr. Ranking Member, you and I
will disagree.
Mr. Higgins [continuing]. Use of it as a pipeline and the
description as inaccurate.
Chairwoman Barragan. Mr. Higgins, you know, I just wanted
to note that, you know, I was hoping that as you mentioned at
the outset of your comments this would be a productive
bipartisan conversation but it does not help when we start to
villainize immigrants. I think that is what I was trying to get
out. So we do not have to hash it out now. Hopefully, we will
get information from our witnesses today that will help that
situation out.
With that said, we are going to move on.
Members are reminded that the subcommittee will operate
according to the guidelines laid out by the Chairman and the
Ranking Member in their July 8 colloquy.
The Chair now recognizes the Chairman of the full
committee, the gentleman from Mississippi, Mr. Thompson, for an
opening statement.
Is Mr. Thompson available? I do not see him here. Let's
give him a second here.
Mr. Cleaver. Madam Chair.
Chairwoman Barragan. Yes, Mr. Cleaver.
Mr. Cleaver. He was just in another meeting so I am
assuming that he is trying to get back over here.
Chairwoman Barragan. OK. Thank you.
With that, is Mr. Katko, the full committee's Ranking
Member available for an opening statement? I do not see him.
Mr. Katko. I am available. Yes.
Chairwoman Barragan. Oh, there you are. Mr. Katko, the
Ranking Member of the full committee, you are now recognized,
the gentleman from New York, for an opening statement.
Mr. Katko. Thank you, Madam Chair.
I am pleased that the subcommittee is holding a hearing
today on a topic all of us care deeply about, the welfare of
children crossing the Southwest Border.
Some of these children arrive alone and afraid with nothing
but the clothes on their backs. Others arrive with loved ones
hoping for a better life in the United States. Many children
making the dangerous journey to the United States face tragic
circumstances of abuse, illness, violence, and trafficking
along the way. Increasingly, drug cartels use children as pawns
to distract Border Patrol agents as illicit drugs are smuggled
across the border.
I have now taken 2 trips to the Southern Border in the last
couple of months, and I also lived on the Southwest Border as a
Federal organized crime prosecutor going after cartels in the
mid-1990's, so I am intimately familiar with the well-worn
drug-trafficking habits, and they have not changed over the
decades.
Like I said, I have taken 2 trips to the border and that is
something that has not been done by either President Biden or
Vice President Harris, who is tasked with trying to clean up
the mess created by this administration. The stories my
colleagues and I heard from the front-line men and women of
Homeland Security about the dueling humanitarian security and
public health crises were incredibly disturbing with CBP
encountering more than 14,000 unaccompanied children and single
minders at the Southwest Border in May 2021 alone,
approximately 14 times the number encountered in the same month
just 1 year ago. Think about that. Fourteen times more.
That is as an already strained work force continues to face
a lack of capacity and resources to effectively manage this
crisis.
Additionally, I am troubled that the Biden administration
has reportedly removed important protections related to vetting
the sponsors to whom unaccompanied children are released, while
also waiving background check requirements for caregivers at
migrant care facilities.
These troubling changes in policy are doubly concerning
amongst recent reports of abuse at these facilities. Moreover,
as we anticipate changes to enforcement of Title 42 public
health authorities at the border and with the elimination of
the critical Remain in Mexico policy, our front-line law
enforcement officers are being undermined by their own
Government's policies at a time when they need more resources,
more support, not less. That is not coming from me; that is
coming from them. If the President and Vice President went to
the border they would be told just that.
The President's budget proposal allows for not a single
additional Border Patrol agent despite a 20-year high in
migrant numbers. Meanwhile, the Vice President speaks in vague,
hollow terms about what the United States is doing long-term
down in Guatemala while dismissing calls for her to visit the
Southwest Border.
Unaccompanied children are suffering at the hands of human
smugglers on a dangerous journey. In short, they are being
exploited. Those that make it into the United States are often
exploited by cartels and gangs.
I hope that this hearing today will be an honest
examination of the conditions facing these children on the
ground, as well as the challenges facing the front-line men and
women of our Homeland Security who are working admits dire
circumstances.
Before I close, I do want to note this: In the city of
Syracuse alone, we have some of the highest concentrations of
poverty in the United States of America. Those pockets of
poverty exist all across this country. As an organized crime
prosecutor in Syracuse, while prosecuting gang cases, I saw
first-hand the devastating effects of this extreme poverty on
our communities and it often leads to a life of crime and an
early death for these kids. It is tragic. Money that could be
spent to help these kids, American citizen children, are
instead being used to deal with a crisis at the border that
this administration created on January 20. There is not an
agent that works on the border that will tell you anything
other than the fact that everything changed on January 20 when
the President changed those Executive Orders. I really hope
that we have a sober discussion about that today. This is not a
Democratic issue or a Republican issue. As you all know, I am
one of the most bipartisan Members in Congress. But we are
doing a very major disservice to our communities by ignoring
the challenges at the border.
I do want to thank our witnesses for appearing today before
the committee and I yield back the balance of my time. Thank
you.
[The statement of Ranking Member Katko follows:]
Statement of Ranking Member John Katko
Thank you, Madam Chair. I am pleased that this subcommittee is
holding a hearing today on a topic all of us care deeply about: The
welfare of children crossing the Southwest Border.
Some of these children arrive alone and afraid, with nothing but
the clothes on their backs. Others arrive with loved ones, hoping for a
better life in the United States. Many children making the dangerous
journey to the United States face tragic circumstances of abuse,
illness, violence, and trafficking along the way. Increasingly, drug
cartels use children as pawns to distract Border Patrol agents as
illicit drugs are smuggled across the border.
I have now taken 2 trips to the Southern Border in the last couple
of months to see the situation first-hand--something not done by either
President Biden or Vice President Harris, who was tasked with trying to
clean up the mess created by this administration. The stories my
colleagues and I heard from the front-line men and women of DHS about
the dueling humanitarian, security, and public health crises were
incredibly disturbing. With CBP encountering more than 14,000
unaccompanied children and single minors at the Southwest Border in May
2021 alone--approximately 14 times the number encountered in the same
month just 1 year ago--an already strained workforce continues to face
a lack of capacity and resources to effectively manage this crisis.
Additionally, I am troubled that the Biden administration has
reportedly removed important protections related to vetting the
sponsors to whom unaccompanied children are released, while also
waiving background check requirements for caregivers at migrant care
facilities. These troubling changes in policy are doubly concerning
amongst recent reports of abuse at these facilities.
Moreover, as we anticipate changes to enforcement of Title 42
public health authorities at the border and with the elimination of the
critical ``remain in Mexico'' policy, our front-line law enforcement
are being undermined by their own Government's policies at a time when
they need more resources and more support--not less. The President's
budget proposal allows for not a single additional Border Patrol agent,
despite a 20-year high in migrant numbers. Meanwhile, the Vice
President speaks in vague, hollow terms about what the United States is
doing long-term down in Guatemala, while dismissing calls for her to
visit the Southwest Border.
Unaccompanied children are suffering at the hands of human
smugglers on their dangerous journey to the United States. Those that
make it into the United States are often exploited by cartels and
gangs.
I hope that this hearing today will be an honest examination of the
conditions facing these children on the ground, as well as the
challenges facing the front-line men and women of DHS working amidst
dire circumstances.
Before I close, I do want to note this: In the city of Syracuse, we
have some of the highest concentrations of poverty in the United States
of America. Those pockets of poverty exist all across this country. As
an organized crime prosecutor in Syracuse prosecuting gang cases, I saw
first-hand the devastating effects of this extreme poverty on our
communities. It often leads to a life of crime and in early death for
these kids. It's tragic.
Money that could be spent to help these kids--American citizen
children--is instead being used to deal with a crisis at the border
that this administration created on January 20. There's not an agent
that works on the border that will tell you anything other than the
fact that everything changed on January 20 when the President changed
those Executive Orders.
I really hope that we have a sober discussion about that today.
This is not a Democratic issue or a Republican issue. As you all know,
I'm one of the most bipartisan Members in Congress. We are doing a
major disservice to our communities by ignoring the challenges at the
border.
I thank our witnesses for appearing before the Committee today, and
I yield back the balance of my time.
Chairwoman Barragan. Thank you, Mr. Ranking Member.
I now welcome our panel of witnesses.
David Shahoulian is the assistant secretary for border
security and immigration at the Department of Homeland
Securities Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans. In his role,
Mr. Shahoulian coordinates and develops policy for DHS
headquarters and component heads.
Mr. Benjamin Cary Huffman is the executive assistant
commissioner of enterprise services for U.S. Customs and Border
Protection. In his role, Mr. Huffman oversees component-wide
efforts to improve and increase collaboration among CBP offices
that provide services to front-line operators.
Katherine Dueholm is the acting deputy assistant secretary
for western hemisphere affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
In her role, Ms. Dueholm is responsible for U.S. engagement
with Mexico and Central America.
Patrick Lechleitner is the acting executive associate
director for homeland security investigations at U.S.
Immigration and Custom Enforcement. In his role, he oversees
the principal investigative component of the Department of
Homeland Security that is responsible for investigating and
disrupting transnational, criminal organizations, and terrorist
networks seeking to exploit U.S. customs or immigration laws.
Without objection, the witnesses' full statements will be
inserted in the record.
I now ask each witness to summarize his or her statement
for 5 minutes beginning with Mr. Shahoulian. Shahoulian, my
apologies.
STATEMENT OF DAVID SHAHOULIAN, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR BORDER
SECURITY AND IMMIGRATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Mr. Shahoulian. No worries.
Chairwoman Barragan, Ranking Member Higgins, Chairman
Thompson, Ranking Member Katko, and distinguished Members of
the subcommittee, it is an honor to update the subcommittee on
what the administration is doing to address the needs at the
border and specifically, the needs of unaccompanied children.
As Secretary Mayorkas has said, DHS is working tirelessly
to manage the surge of migrants at the Southwest Border. Every
day, the brave men and women of the Department take the steps
necessary to restore safe and orderly processing across the
order.
Although migrant encounters dropped at the beginning of the
pandemic, encounters overall have been rising since April 2020
when public health-related restrictions were first implemented
at the border and throughout the region. Between April 2020 and
January 2021, we saw a 1,000 percent increase in apprehensions
along the Southwest Border. In April 2021, CBP encountered
178,000 individuals at the Southwest Border. Of these, 17,000
were unaccompanied children.
These numbers are challenging. But at the same time, we
must note that they do overstate migration flows. Due to the
use of Title 42 expulsion authority, the rate of repeat
encounters, particularly among single adults, has been much
higher than normal. Although we are seeing more encounters than
in the peak of 2019, the number of unique encounters remains
lower than it was then. Of course, this fact does not reduce
the impact of total encounters on the Department and its
personnel, it is a reminder that encounter numbers do not tell
the whole story and that migration searches have varied and
complicated causes.
One thing is clear. The decision made by families and
children to undertake the dangerous journey does not come
lightly and it underscores the need for a comprehensive
regional approach to address irregular migration.
Among other things, we must deal with the factors that
cause people to flee in the first place, including the on-going
violence, corruption, natural disasters, and lack of basic
opportunities that plague various countries in the region. We
must also provide alternative, lawful avenues for migration and
for finding other forms of safety in the region. We must
increase the capacity of countries in that hemisphere to take
displaced persons and we must overhaul and streamline our
procedures for processing individuals and adjudicating asylum
claims at the border. Efforts in each of these areas are
already under way.
By working closely with partners in the region and with a
whole-of-Government approach, we can holistically address the
situation in the region and at the border. The work we have
already accomplished with unaccompanied children is an example
of what we can achieve. Over the last several months, Secretary
Mayorkas directed various parts of DHS to support an all-of-
Government effort to address the needs of children. As part of
these efforts, FEMA worked with HHS to significantly expand
emergency influx shelter capacity. DHS established an
interagency movement coordination cell to bring together
colleagues across FEMA, CBP, ICE, USCIF, and HHS to streamline
operations in support of the rapid transfer of unaccompanied
children from CBP to ORR custody.
USCIF provided hundreds of officers to help interview and
vet potential sponsors, and DHS has provided hundreds of
volunteers to assist CBP and HHS with oversight and logistics.
Due to these efforts, we have completely transformed the
processing of unaccompanied children.
On March 29 of this year, more than 5,700 children were in
Border Patrol stations. As of June 8, there were 514. On March
29, more than 4,000 children were held over the 72-hour legal
limit. As of June 8, there were none. On March 29, the average
time of a child in a Border Patrol station was 133 hours. As of
June 8, it was 21.
Addressing the needs of unaccompanied children is an
important step but it also highlights the need for long-term
solutions, including ones that provide legal and safe
alternatives to the dangerous journey that so many have decided
to attempt. Unfortunately, some of these very programs were
dismantled by the last administration. But this President and
this administration have made it clear that we are committed to
rebuilding our Nation's immigration system and reforming
immigration policies in a manner that is consistent with our
laws and with our values as a Nation.
As Secretary Mayorkas has said, our goal is a safe, legal,
and orderly immigration system that is based on our bedrock
priorities--to keep our border secure, address the plight of
children as the law requires, assess asylum claims as required
by law, and enable families to be together.
Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Shahoulian follows:]
Prepared Statement of David Shahoulian
June 10, 2021
introduction
Chairwoman Barragan, Ranking Member Higgins, and distinguished
Members of the subcommittee: It is an honor to appear before you today
to discuss the important steps the Department of Homeland Security (DHS
or Department) is taking to address the needs of unaccompanied
children, as well as our overall efforts along the Southwest Border.
I am proud to serve alongside the many brave men and women of the
Department who are working tirelessly to address the surge of migrants,
including unaccompanied children, at our Southwest Border. Every day we
take significant steps to rebuild and improve the capacity necessary to
expand safe and orderly processing at our borders. DHS and the
administration are committed to rebuilding our Nation's immigration
system and reforming immigration policies consistent with our laws and
our values as a Nation.
border challenges
Challenges at the border, including surges in migration, are not
new. Every administration in modern history has had to deal with
significant spikes in arrivals at our Southwest Border.
The causes of such migration challenges have always been varied and
complex. Over the last few years, however, a number of factors in the
Northern Triangle region (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras) have
coincided to further exacerbate dislocation and migration in the
region. These factors include corruption and political instability;
persistent violence, including high rates of gender-based violence;
droughts, hurricanes, and other natural disasters; and limited economic
opportunity. The COVID-19 global pandemic only compounded this already
challenging situation.
Although encounters at the Southwest Border plummeted at the
beginning of the pandemic, when public health-related restrictions were
first implemented at the border and throughout the region, encounters
have steadily increased since then. Between April 2020 and January
2021, for example, the Department saw a 1,000 percent increase in
apprehensions along the Southwest Border. And those numbers have
continued to rise. In March and April 2021, U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) encountered more than 170,000 individuals each month
at the Southwest Border.
It is important to note that while recent encounter numbers are
high, they also somewhat overstate migration flows, particularly among
single adults. Since March 2020, the Department has been assisting the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in implementing a
public health order temporarily suspending the introduction of certain
persons from countries where a communicable disease exists (the ``CDC
Order'') pursuant to Title 42 of the United States Code (``Title 42'').
Under that authority, DHS continues to expel the majority of single
adults and many families encountered at the border. In part because
expulsions do not carry a legal immigration consequence, DHS is seeing
significantly higher-than-normal repeated crossing attempts. In other
words, the Department is often encountering the same individual
multiple times after being encountered and expelled from the United
States.
Thus, although the Department is seeing more total encounters now
than in May 2019 (the peak month that year), the number of unique
encounters remains lower than the number of such encounters in May
2019. Of course, the high re-encounter rate does not minimize the
impact of current encounters on the Department. But it does serve as a
reminder that encounter numbers do not tell the whole story and that
migration surges have varied and complicated causes.
It is clear that the decision made by many families and children to
undertake the dangerous journey to the United States does not come
lightly, and it underscores the need for a comprehensive regional
approach for addressing irregular migration. There is no one single
solution.
The administration's approach was first laid out by President Biden
in his Executive Order on Creating a Comprehensive Regional Framework
to Address the Causes of Migration, to Manage Migration Throughout
North and Central America, and to Provide Safe and Orderly Processing
of Asylum Seekers at the United States Border. Among other things, we
must deal with the factors that cause individuals to flee in the first
place, including the on-going violence, corruption, natural disasters,
and lack of basic opportunities--including poverty and lack of
opportunity exacerbated by gender inequality--that plague various
countries in the region and that drive people to leave their homes.
This is the only true long-term solution.
We must also work collaboratively with countries in the region to
provide alternative avenues for migration, including access to
temporary work opportunities, and other forms of securing safety,
including by increasing the capacity of countries in the region to take
and assist displaced persons. Until we address the root causes that
push people to migrate in the first place and establish lawful, safe,
and orderly pathways for people to seek protection or opportunity, we
will likely continue to see an increase in unauthorized migration at
our Southwest Border.
Finally, we must reform our procedures for processing individuals
at the border, including adjudicating the asylum claims of those who
make them. The long-standing system for adjudicating cases arising out
of the border was designed years ago, when the demographic makeup of
border encounters--including the percentage of individuals making
asylum claims--was vastly different than it is today. The current
system is simply not designed to efficiently adjudicate the cases we
are seeing today, resulting in dysfunction that only exacerbates the
country's migration challenges.
Efforts in each of the above areas are already under way. DHS is
supporting the Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International
Development, and other Federal agencies to address drivers of migration
in the region, to support other countries as they work to respond to
humanitarian needs and improve their respective humanitarian protection
systems, and to expand lawful avenues for migration to the United
States and other countries. DHS is also developing policies and
procedures that promote safe and orderly processing of asylum claims at
our borders, and that ensure those claims are adjudicated in a timely
and fair manner.
By working closely with partners in the region, and with a whole-
of-Government approach, we can holistically address the migration
dynamics in the region and at the Southwest Border. The work we have
already accomplished with unaccompanied children, which I address
further below, is an example of what we can achieve.
covid-19 and title 42
The global pandemic has exacerbated the challenges we face at the
border. In March 2020, DHS began assisting the CDC in implementing its
public health order under Title 42, and the Department has continued to
work alongside the CDC to implement key safety measures and guidance.
The public health and safety of border communities, U.S. Government
personnel, and those we encounter remain a top priority.
DHS continues to expel the majority of single adults and many of
the families it encounters. Unaccompanied children remain excepted from
the CDC Order.
In certain situations, the Department may except individuals from
the CDC Order, process them under Title 8 of the United States Code,
and place them into immigration proceedings. As permitted by the CDC
Order, such exceptions are determined on a case-by-case basis in
consideration of the totality of the circumstances. In consultation
with the CDC, the Department has created a streamlined system to
facilitate the efficient processing of individuals in particularly
vulnerable situations who may warrant such exception under Title 42.
Pursuant to this process, DHS may process certain vulnerable
individuals safely while protecting our National security and
safeguarding public health. Addressing the situation of migrants in
vulnerable situations is aligned with both our National interests and
our values as a Nation.
DHS employs all necessary safety precautions throughout our
facilities in accordance with the CDC's public health guidance,
including mandatory face coverings and social distancing to the maximum
extent possible. DHS has also followed recommendations to limit the
temporary holding capacity within U.S. Border Patrol facilities by up
to 75 percent to allow for social distancing.
DHS will continue to assist the CDC in implementing the CDC Order
while it reassess the public health need for the order. As Secretary
Mayorkas has said before, the administration will not keep the Title 42
restrictions in place longer than necessary for public health and
safety.
unaccompanied children
DHS has stopped the prior administration's practice of expelling
vulnerable unaccompanied children pursuant to Title 42, and the
Department is working in tandem with the Office of Refugee Resettlement
(ORR) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to
ensure such children are transferred to ORR custody as promptly and as
safely as possible.
The Biden administration has employed a whole-of-Government
approach to solve issues related to the care, transfer, and placement
of unaccompanied children, and it is strongly committed to preventing
the exploitation of this vulnerable population. Generally, when CBP
encounters an unaccompanied child, its officers and agents are required
to transfer the child to ORR custody within 72 hours of the
unaccompanied child determination. Unaccompanied children are tested
for COVID-19 upon transfer to ORR, which is generally responsible for
placing such children with sponsors in the United States. In more than
80 percent of cases, a family member in the United States is available
to sponsor the child for the duration of the child's immigration
proceedings.
In partnership with HHS, the Department has taken steps to identify
and create significant efficiencies in the above-described process.
Among other things, the Department has assisted HHS to significantly
expand its emergency influx shelter capacity; established an
interagency Movement Coordination Cell (MCC) to streamline operations
in support of the timely transfer of unaccompanied children from DHS to
ORR custody; provided hundreds of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS) officers to help interview and vet potential sponsors;
and activated the DHS volunteer workforce, through which approximately
300-400 volunteers across the country are assisting CBP and ORR with
oversight and logistics at any given time.
As a result of these efforts, DHS and HHS have been able to
drastically reduce the number of unaccompanied children in CBP custody
as well as the time such children spend in such custody. On March 29,
2021, more than 5,700 unaccompanied children were in Border Patrol
stations. As of June 8, there were 514. On March 29, more than 4,000
children were held over the 72-hour legal limit. As of June 8, there
were none. On March 29, the average time of an unaccompanied child in a
Border Patrol station was 133 hours. As of June 8, it was 21 hours.
Currently, all unaccompanied children are screened for trafficking
by CBP. Incidences of child trafficking, or suspected cases of child
trafficking, are reported to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)
within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and, as
appropriate, the HHS Office of Trafficking in Persons.
border security and transnational criminal organizations
When an individual or family decides to make the long and dangerous
journey to our Southwest Border, or makes the difficult decision to
send a child alone, these actions often attract corrupt actors seeking
to exploit these sensitive populations. Transnational criminal
organizations (TCOs) that smuggle or traffic migrants place profit over
the value of human life, often with devastating consequences. These
organizations are complicit in sexual assaults, human trafficking, and
abandonment of vulnerable migrants--including young children.
Unfortunately, many migrants fall victim to their manipulation and
abuse.
The Department, through CBP and HSI, takes these threats seriously
and has long worked to disrupt and dismantle these criminal
organizations. In collaboration with Federal and international
partners, DHS recently announced Operational Sentinel, a counter-
network targeting operation aimed at holding accountable those with
ties to TCO logistical operations.
The intent of this joint effort is to disrupt the upstream and
downstream logistical networks of TCOs that are directly and indirectly
contributing to the surge of migrants at the Southwest Border.
Operation Sentinel will leverage law enforcement expertise and
authorities to identify TCO targets, their foreign and domestic
associates, and assets to employ a series of targeted enforcement
actions and sanctions against them. Such actions may include, but are
not limited to, denying access to travel through the revocation of
travel documents; the suspension and debarment of trade entities; and
the freezing of bank accounts and other financial assets tied to TCO
logistical networks.
central american minors program
In close coordination with the Department of State, DHS has been
working to reinstitute and strengthen the Central American Minors (CAM)
program to reunite eligible children from El Salvador, Guatemala, and
Honduras with parents who are lawfully present in the United States.
This important program supports family unity and diminishes the need
for many unaccompanied children to make the dangerous journey to the
border.
On March 10, 2021, the Department of State announced the phased
reopening of this program. Interviews for phase 1, which involves the
processing of previously filed applications, started on April 19. In
phase 2, the program will begin to accept new applications.
Before this program was terminated under the previous
administration, approximately 5,000 children were reunited safely and
securely with their families. The abrupt nature of the previous
administration's termination of the program left many families in the
middle of the process and unable to reunify, despite having taken
initial efforts to do so. It will take time to rebuild the CAM program.
DHS is committed to strengthening this program and providing children
with the protections they need, along with a viable, safe, and legal
alternative to the dangerous journey many have attempted to reach our
Southwest Border.
increases in h-2b nonimmigrant visas
On May 25, 2021, in accordance with the authority granted by
Congress, DHS and the Department of Labor published a temporary final
rule increasing the numerical limit, or cap, on H-2B nonimmigrant visas
by up to 22,000 additional visas through the end of fiscal year 2021.
Of these visas, 6,000 are reserved for nationals of Northern Triangle
countries.
This increase represents but 1 innovative approach to providing
additional legal pathways to the United States for individuals in the
region while simultaneously supporting the U.S. economy and businesses.
By doing so, we have addressed the needs of U.S. employers who are at
risk of irreparable economic harm due to a shortage of workers to fill
temporary positions, while also establishing safeguards to ensure that
U.S. workers are not adversely impacted. Once the temporary job has
been completed, these H-2B nonimmigrant visa holders return to their
home countries with wages to spend in support of struggling Northern
Triangle economies, in addition to any remittances they may have been
able to send while working in the United States.
migrant protection protocols
On January 20, 2021, DHS announced it would suspend all new
enrollments in the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) program. Under
MPP, approximately 70,000 individuals were forced to return to Mexico
while awaiting their immigration proceedings. On June 1, 2021, as
directed by the President in Executive Order 14010, Secretary Mayorkas
completed his review of MPP and terminated the program.
As part of the administration's phased approach to restore safe and
orderly processing at the Southwest Border, DHS began processing into
the United States certain individuals who were enrolled in MPP to allow
them to pursue their legal claims before the Department of Justice's
Executive Office for Immigration Review. The Department worked closely
with interagency and international organization partners as well as the
government of Mexico. As a result of these efforts, DHS has safely and
efficiently processed more than 11,600 individuals as of June 4 through
6 ports of entry across the Southwest Border, allowing them the
opportunity to pursue their immigration cases in the United States.
The pandemic has underscored the importance of creating innovative
procedures that prioritize the safety of those involved. Individuals
who may be eligible for this process can register on-line from any
location. Once registered, eligible individuals are contacted by
international organizations and provided instructions for accessing
designated staging locations, where they receive a health screening and
are tested for COVID-19 prior to presentation at a designated port of
entry. Those who test positive for COVID-19 are supported by
facilitating organizations to isolate and/or seek treatment in line
with the policy of the relevant local health authority in Mexico.
Following isolation and screening, an individual will again be eligible
for facilitated arrival at a designated port of entry.
This innovative and efficient process to address certain
individuals who were enrolled in MPP is a testament to our ability to
process individuals into the United States in a way that is humane and
efficient while still enforcing our immigration laws and maintaining
border security and public health.
family reunification
In the first weeks of the new administration, President Biden
issued an Executive Order on the Establishment of Interagency Task
Force on the Reunification of Families. The Task Force's mission is to
correct the injustice of the prior administration's practice of
separating children from their parents or legal guardians at the U.S.-
Mexico Border, including through its Zero-Tolerance Policy.
To date, the Task Force has identified approximately 4,000 children
who were victims of the Zero-Tolerance Policy and related initiatives.
The Task Force is working to reunite such children with their separated
parents or legal guardians.
conclusion
President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas both have made clear that
securing our border does not and should not come at the expense of
fulfilling both our legal and humanitarian obligations. Addressing the
needs of unaccompanied children and others in a safe, orderly, and
efficient manner aligns with our National interest and our values as a
Nation.
Thank you. I look forward to answering your questions.
Chairwoman Barragan. Thank you for your testimony.
I am seeing that the Chairman of the full committee has
returned. I am going to now recognize the Chairman of the full
committee, the gentleman from Mississippi, Mr. Thompson, for an
opening statement before we resume witness testimony.
Mr. Chairman, the floor is yours.
Mr. Thompson. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I apologize
but I have 3 balls in the air at the same time so it is a
little difficult. But also, I thank you for holding this
hearing and your continued leadership on border security issues
and for holding today's follow-up hearing on the challenges
posed by unaccompanied children at the border.
People, including unaccompanied children, have been
arriving at our Southern Border for decades, under both
Democratic and Republican administrations. I am grateful for
the Biden administration's efforts to ensure that unaccompanied
children are able to receive proper care and access to
protections guaranteed under United States law. DHS, HHS, and
other Federal agencies are working closely with local
communities and nongovernmental organizations to provide
temporary shelter, essential medical care, legal services, and
COVID-19 testing for unaccompanied children.
The Vice President and the State Department are also
working with foreign governments, the private sector, and other
organizations to bolster the capacity of our neighbors to
provide youth and vulnerable populations with opportunity and
protection at home. The administration is also restarting the
Central American Minors Program to allow unaccompanied children
to apply for protection in their home country. If they qualify,
children will then be able to make a safe and orderly journey
to the United States.
All of these efforts are concrete steps that will not only
help children who arrive at our border, but also address many
of the push factors forcing children to make the dangerous
journey. Border security remains a priority for this committee.
We can secure our border and process people humanely and
effectively, and I am grateful to Secretary Mayorkas and the
Biden administration for leading us in that direction. Despite
the claims of some of my colleagues, we do not need to return
to the inhumane, cruel, and untimely ineffective policies of
the Trump administration.
As we all recall, in his first year in office, President
Trump piloted, and later implemented, programs that separated
thousands of children from their parents. This anti-immigrant
trend continued with the Trump administration instituting
policies, like the Migrant Protection Protocols, that failed to
address the root causes of migration and left migrants
languishing in camps in Mexico. In fact, we still have a long
road ahead to repair the system decimated by the Trump
administration.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trump administration
ignored the warning signs of another migration influx and
instead issued a so-called Public Health Order, also known as
Title 42. Title 42 has resulted in thousands of migrants,
including unaccompanied children and young families, being
expelled from the United States without due process. Most were
sent back to Mexico without any access to the asylum
protections provided for under United States law. Many have
tried to cross the border again and again, and the numbers we
are seeing now are in large part due to this policy. The Biden
administration rightly exempted unaccompanied children from
this order. However, I remain concerned that Title 42 is still
being implemented, particularly for families and other
vulnerable populations.
Recently the Department improved the process for providing
vulnerable individuals with exceptions to the Title 42 policy.
It is a step in the right direction, but the program is still
very small. Last month, the New York Times published a
whistleblower complaint detailing how families are sending
their minor children across the border alone, increasing the
number of unaccompanied children in Federal Government custody.
I strongly urge the administration to review Title 42 and take
action to ensure that families are not faced with this terrible
choice.
I am eager to hear from our Government witnesses today on
ways the Biden administration is handling the challenge of
unaccompanied children arriving at our Southern Border, as well
as the long-term efforts being implemented and considered to
address the root causes of migration. I am also interested to
hear how we can better position the Federal Government to
respond and manage future influxes.
Thank you, Madam Chairman, and I appreciate your indulgence
while I am multitasking today. Thank you much.
[The statement of Chairman Thompson follows:]
Statement of Chairman Bennie G. Thompson
June 10, 2021
People, including unaccompanied children, have been arriving at or
Southern Border for decades--under both Democratic and Republican
administrations. I am grateful for the Biden administration's efforts
to ensure that unaccompanied children are able to receive proper care
and access to protections guaranteed under United States law. DHS, HHS,
and other Federal agencies are working closely with local communities
and non-Governmental organizations to provide temporary shelter,
essential medical care, legal services, and COVID-19 testing for
unaccompanied children.
The Vice President and the State Department are also working with
foreign governments, the private sector, and other organizations to
bolster the capacity of our neighbors to provide youth and vulnerable
populations with opportunity and protection at home. The administration
is also restarting the Central American Minors Program to allow
unaccompanied children to apply for protection in their home country.
If they qualify, children will then be able to make a safe and orderly
journey to the United States.
All of these efforts are concrete steps that will not only help
children who arrive at our border, but also address many of the push
factors forcing children to make the dangerous journey. Border security
remains a priority for this committee. We can secure our border and
process people humanely and effectively, and I am grateful to Secretary
Mayorkas and the Biden administration for leading us in that direction.
Despite the claims of some of my colleagues, we do not need to return
to the inhumane, cruel, and ultimately ineffective policies of the
Trump administration.
As we all recall, in his first year in office, President Trump
piloted, and later implemented, programs that separated thousands of
children from their parents. This anti-immigrant trend continued with
the Trump administration instituting policies, like the Migrant
Protection Protocols, that failed to address the root causes of
migration and left migrants languishing in camps in Mexico. In fact, we
still have a long road ahead to repair the system decimated by the
Trump administration.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trump administration ignored the
warning signs of another migration influx and instead issued a so-
called Public Health Order, also known as Title 42. Title 42 has
resulted in thousands of migrants, including unaccompanied children and
young families, being expelled from the United States without due
process. Most were sent back to Mexico without any access to the asylum
protections provided for under United States law. Many have tried to
cross the border again and again, and the numbers we are seeing now are
in large part due to this policy. The Biden administration rightly
exempted unaccompanied children from this order. However, I remain
concerned that Title 42 is still being implemented--particularly for
families and other vulnerable populations.
Recently the Department improved the process for providing
vulnerable individuals with exceptions to the Title 42 policy. It's a
step in the right direction, but the program is still very small. Last
month, the New York Times published a whistleblower complaint detailing
how families are sending their minor children across the border alone,
increasing the number of unaccompanied children in Federal Government
custody. I strongly urge the administration to review Title 42 and take
action to ensure that families are not faced with this terrible choice.
I am eager to hear from our Government witnesses today on ways the
Biden administration is handling the challenge of unaccompanied
children arriving at our Southern Border, as well as the long-term
efforts being implemented and considered to address the root causes of
migration. I am also interested to hear how we can better position the
Federal Government to respond and manage future influxes.
Chairwoman Barragan. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. A number of
us are as well, so I appreciate that. Thank you.
Now we will resume to witness testimony. I would like to
recognize Mr. Huffman to summarize his statement for 5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF BENJAMINE ``CARRY'' HUFFMAN, EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
COMMISSIONER, ENTERPRISE SERVICES, U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER
PROTECTION
Mr. Huffman. Good afternoon, Chairwoman Barragan, Ranking
Member Higgins, and distinguished Members of the subcommittee.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today on behalf of
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It is my honor to
illustrate how CBP cares for unaccompanied children (UC) in our
temporary custody. Our goal is to transfer, transport, release,
repatriate individuals, especially UCs, as expeditiously as
possible. The best thing we can do for these children is to
advocate for them to be moved quickly into the long-term care
of HHS. We are committed to balancing our border security
mission with providing safe and humane conditions for those who
are in our temporary custody.
However, CBP facilities have always been intended for
short-term, temporary holding, historically for single adults.
Our legacy facilities were not designed for the increase of UCs
arriving at our Southwest Border over the COVID-19 health and
safety measures.
Despite the challenges COVID-19 presents, we continue to
advocate for the efficient processing and expeditious transfer
of UCs to HHS. But we must have our interagency partners, like
ICE and HHS at the table. Collaborating with our trusted
partners and other lessons learned from past searches have led
us to some of our greatest improvements in our response.
This past March presented us with the highest number of UCs
encountered along our Southwest Border to date. There were over
18,700 UCs encountered in March alone. By late March, the
number of UCs entering CBP custody had far exceeded HHS's
capacity to provide timely placement in its facilities. With
this increase, we collaborate with CBP and across the
interagency on multiple lines of effort. Working closely with
our interagency partners helps us expeditiously transfer UCs as
these movements require multiple operational decisions, many of
which are outside of CBP's domain.
To streamline the transfers, the Movement Coordination Cell
(MCC) was established at CBP Headquarters in late March. The
MCC is a multiagency effort that mobilizes CBP, ICE, HHS, DOD,
and FEMA resources to move UCs out of CBP custody and into
HHS's care as fast as possible but within 72 hours. By
establishing the MCC, we have been able to significantly reduce
the number of UCs in CBP temporary custody and the time in
custody to under 72 hours. In March, the average number of UCs
in temporary CBP custody was over 4,000. Today, the average is
under 700, but more importantly, the average time in custody
went from 115 hours in March to just 20 hours today.
We also learned from the 2019 surge that we needed to
streamline the acquisition process so we could efficiently
stand up new soft-sided facilities.
We developed standardized contracts with tiered, scalable
options to enable us to quickly meet our facility needs. Prior
to this year, CBP awarded a blanket purchase agreement for
soft-sided facilities which allowed us to swiftly stand up 6
facilities in Arizona and Texas. Almost all of these facilities
include indoor and outdoor play areas with games, toys, age-
appropriate food, and televisions for entertainment. We also
contracted bilingual caregivers to provide personal care and
basic hygiene for the children. To meet increased processing
demands, CBP deployed our agents and officers from across the
country to our Southwest Borders and DHS activated the
volunteer force.
We also prioritized medical support and have continued to
expand the scope and scale of CBP's medical support services.
CBP's contract medical personnel are trained, licensed, and
credentialed to care for children. We are developing additional
training for in-trauma-informed care for our front-line
officers and agents.
Children who are in our temporary custody receive health
intake interviews and medical assessments that include trauma-
informed health considerations. These allow us to identify
children's health issues that may require further attention. We
constantly work to identify ways that we may further improve
our medical support efforts. We continue to make improvements
from past migration surges, and it is my personal belief that
CBP advocates for the best possible care for the children who
come into our temporary custody.
We assess our performances, processes, and procedures for
improvement and work to refine our whole-of-Government approach
as trusted partners across the Federal agencies. I can attest
to the empathy of the CBP work force. These men and women are
dedicated not only to the mission but to ensuring children are
cared for with compassion while they are in our temporary
custody.
I am proud to be here today to represent the men and women
of CBP and thank you for the opportunity to be here today. I
look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Huffman follows:]
Prepared Statement of Benjamine ``Carry'' Huffman
June 10, 2021
Chairwoman Barragan, Ranking Member Higgins, and Members of the
subcommittee, it is my honor to appear before you today to testify
about the care U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) provides for
unaccompanied children (UCs) in our temporary custody.
I am proud to be here representing the men and women of CBP, who
serve the American people 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. CBP is
absolutely committed to balancing the need for border security,
protecting U.S. economic interests, safeguarding the health of the
American people and our workforce, and providing appropriate safety,
security, and care for those in our temporary custody. Many of CBP's
agents and officers are parents themselves, and I can assure you that,
as compassionate human beings, they are committed to providing the best
possible care for children who are temporarily in our custody.
Part of CBP's mission is to enforce immigration laws, inspecting
and processing those individuals who either present themselves at ports
of entry (POEs) with or without appropriate travel documents or enter
the United States without authorization between the POEs. Following
such an encounter, CBP makes every effort to promptly process,
transfer, transport, release, or repatriate individuals to minimize the
amount of time spent in our temporary custody.
CBP facilities have always been intended as temporary holding for
individuals in our custody. As you are aware, CBP facilities were
historically constructed with holding facilities designed for short-
term temporary custody of single adults. Our legacy facilities
certainly were not designed for the social distancing as recommended
for safety during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Surges in migration are not new for CBP, yet each one we have faced
in the past has its own unique set of challenges based on the changing
demographics and the migration trends. CBP has built upon the knowledge
and experience we gained from each of the migration surges we have
encountered.
Every surge we have faced has taught us a lot. We learned there was
a need to be able to quickly expand our holding capacity through a
standardized acquisition strategy. We learned to modify our operations
to accommodate the special needs of children and to accommodate large
numbers of children. Since then, we have established mechanisms for
self-accountability, employing a proactive approach that prioritizes
care for children in our temporary custody.
We continue to expel most single adults and many families to their
last country of transit or country of origin--primarily Mexico--under
the Title 42 authority of the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) Order Suspending the Right to Introduce Persons from
Certain Countries Where a Quarantinable Communicable Disease Exists.
However, UCs encountered in the United States are no longer being
expelled. As quickly as possible, the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) transfers custody of UCs to the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services' (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), as required
under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008
(TVPRA) and noncitizen single adults and families to U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
background
COVID-19 has presented unique challenges to CBP's operations.
Despite the restrictions CBP must adhere to under COVID-19 precautions,
we continue to advocate for the swift and efficient processing of UCs
in our temporary custody to ensure they transfer as quickly as possible
into HHS care. However, in order for this system to work seamlessly, we
rely on a trusted partnership with our interagency counterparts--like
ICE and HHS--by having them at the table. This has been one of our
greatest improvements in efficiency since the fiscal year 2019
migration surge.
Back then, the surge primarily consisted of large groups of
families and UCs, and in fiscal year 2020, the flow of individuals
arriving at our borders slowed in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, we have seen a substantial rise again in fiscal year 2021 and,
with it, an increase in UCs. U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) encounters along
the Southwest Border this fiscal year have increased significantly over
the total for fiscal year 2020; specifically, the number of UCs, to
date, has increased over 110 percent. March saw a 102-percent increase
over February 2021--with 18,733 total UCs in March alone.\1\ Fewer than
11 percent of encounters in March were UCs, but by the end of March,
UCs accounted for almost half of all people in CBP temporary custody.
By the end March, the number of UCs entering USBP custody far exceeded
ORR's capacity, precluding timely transfer in accordance with the
provisions of the TVPRA, which requires DHS to transfer UCs to ORR care
within 72 hours of determining that the child is a UC, unless there are
exceptional circumstances. In conjunction with Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA), HHS began rapid expansion of ORR's housing
and placement capacity through Emergency Intake Sites (EISs).
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\1\ CBP Announces March 2021 Operational Update, April 8, 2021,
https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/national-media-release/cbp-announces-
march-2021-operational-update (May 26, 2021).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks to the funding support provided by Congress through both the
Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CARES)
Act, 2021 and our fiscal year 2021 enactment, CBP, to date, has been
able to address emergent requirements at the Southwest Border. We have
put the lessons learned in the past to good use in the current fiscal
year. Through the use of standardized contracts and a blanket purchase
agreement, we have vastly improved our capabilities for and
efficiencies in standing up soft-sided facilities (SSFs) and have
strongly augmented our medical capabilities to ensure appropriate
medical care is available when needed. Congress also gave us the
funding to establish new positions to be able to expand our ability to
quickly process undocumented noncitizens arriving at the U.S. border.
The Flores Settlement Agreement
The 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement established a National policy
for the detention, release, and treatment of children in our temporary
custody. Under this agreement, children must be held in safe and
sanitary facilities, with access to toilets and sinks, drinking water
and food, adequate temperature control and ventilation, and appropriate
medical assistance. Children must be appropriately supervised and
provided contact with family members with whom they were apprehended.
Children require different types of care than do single adults. For
example, children have different nutritional needs and require
specialized medical care and screenings.
Juvenile Coordinator's Office
In 2017, the court appointed the CBP chief accountability officer
as the CBP juvenile coordinator (JC) to oversee CBP's compliance with
the Flores Settlement Agreement. The JC collaborates with multiple
components across CBP to monitor on-going compliance. He maintains
situational awareness and tracks progress on critical and emerging
issues related to children in our temporary custody.
In 2019, the JC established the Juvenile Coordinator's Office (JCO)
to assist him in monitoring and reporting on CBP's compliance with the
Flores Settlement Agreement and related CBP policies. The JC and JCO
conduct announced and unannounced site visits across the Southwest
Border to assess CBP's custodial data, medical capabilities, contract
services, and holding conditions, such as temperature and safe and
sanitary conditions, and conduct interviews with children and/or their
parent(s) who wish to be interviewed regarding their experience in CBP
temporary custody. These reviews are conducted utilizing robust
protocols based on criteria from the Flores Settlement Agreement and
CBP policy. In addition, they deliver comprehensive reports that
describe monitoring activities, provide CBP statistics on children in
temporary CBP custody, and/or update the court as per the requirements
of the court orders. Furthermore, the JC and JCO leverage the
collective expertise of multiple CBP offices to provide actionable and
operationally-informed recommendations to enhance our processes and
policies.
fiscal year 2021 accomplishments
In addition to what we have implemented as lessons learned from the
fiscal year 2019 surge, we have put mechanisms in place that allow us
to meet the challenges of a migration surge expeditiously and
efficiently.
Soft-Sided Facilities
To accommodate the growing numbers of families and children in
temporary CBP custody this fiscal year, CBP rapidly mobilized 6 SSFs at
4 locations: Yuma and Tucson, Arizona; and Eagle Pass and Donna, Texas.
These SSFs have a typical capacity of up to 500 people each. They are
air-conditioned and include mini pods (units) separated with clear
vinyl to promote social distancing during the pandemic and to configure
the space as needed to accommodate families and UCs. Designated intake
and processing areas are separate from the general holding space. They
include outdoor and indoor recreation and play areas with games, toys,
and equipment, age-appropriate food, and televisions for entertainment.
They are staffed by bilingual caregivers who provide personal care and
basic hygiene. CBP also ensures there are dual-language signage and
messaging for communications and directions.
It should be noted that these facilities are currently operating at
a 50-percent reduced capacity to accommodate the recommended COVID-19
social-distancing precautions. To assist with SSF operations and
processing, CBP deployed about 425 Border Patrol agents from across the
Nation to provide additional support to Southwest Border sectors.
Another 32 CBP officers were deployed to assist with processing in the
SSFs in Del Rio, Texas, and Yuma and Tucson, Arizona. DHS activated the
DHS Volunteer Force on March 8, 2021, giving CBP additional personnel
to assist at the SSFs.
Acquisition Tools and Strategy
Another area of improvement that was identified following the
fiscal year 2019 surge is associated with our acquisition strategy for
responses to rapid increases in migration. We developed a suite of
acquisition tools to enable us to quickly meet our material solution
needs. We created contracts with standardized scopes of work, tiered
and scalable options, and available capacity across the Southwest
Border, enabling us to be able to design, plan, deploy, operate, and
maintain the SSFs we mobilized. Prior to 2021, CBP had awarded a
blanket purchase agreement for SSFs and associated wrap-around
services, which we used to quickly stand up SSFs in 4 of CBP's
Southwest Border sectors during the current migration increase.
Advocating for Children in Our Temporary Custody
CBP spearheaded the development of the interagency Movement
Coordination Cell (MCC), bringing together colleagues from FEMA, ORR,
ICE, and CBP, all of whom share a common operating picture that focuses
on the rapid transfer of UCs to either HHS licensed facilities or HHS
EISs. CBP has built a robust relationship with HHS to facilitate the
on-going and rapid transfer of UCs into ORR care. This unprecedented
interagency approach has successfully reduced the average time in
custody (TIC) that UCs spend in CBP facilities, and reflects the
progress made through the whole-of-Government approach that did not
exist in prior migration surges.
The MCC has worked diligently to greatly improve the situation on
the Southwest Border and enhance CBP's operational mission capability.
This interagency coordination has increased information and idea
exchanges, and we have improved efficiency by connecting competencies
across our various components. We co-locate key personnel from our
respective agencies and outline clear roles and responsibilities for
MCC members, while encouraging constant communication and
collaboration. This approach enables the MCC, as a whole, to identify
process deficiencies and mitigate bottlenecks to ensure UCs move as
quickly as possible out of temporary CBP custody and into ORR care.
In the month of April, the MCC developed initiatives to coordinate
the movements of UCs and drive down the overall TIC for UCs in CBP
temporary custody significantly to under 72 hours. From quickly working
to coordinate the transfer of UCs to HHS care to standing up and
executing targeted initiatives like the Top 15 TIC, which is aimed at
focusing resources and efforts to move the UCs with the highest TIC out
of CBP custody and into HHS care, each member of the MCC has played an
important role in the collective achievements.
Because this interagency cooperation and focus supported ORR in
expanding its capacity, in May the average number of children in
temporary CBP custody decreased to 640 from 4,109 in March. On the
morning of June 8, the number of children in temporary CBP custody was
575. In March, UCs spent an average of 115 hours in temporary CBP
custody while in June so far they were held for an average of just 21
hours.
As mentioned earlier in this testimony, CBP could not have achieved
any of this success without the trusted partnership and close
coordination with our ICE and HHS counterparts. We depend on each
other. I can personally attest that this is the first year we have felt
that CBP is not alone in facing these challenges. While each agency has
a unique and distinct role in the process, we have come together to
coordinate and collaborate through a unified, collective approach.
Medical Support
To ensure we could continue meeting the special medical needs of
families and children in temporary CBP custody, but particularly in
Border Patrol custody where the majority of UCs are held, we focused on
medical support as a critical line of effort for surge response
planning and coordination. For example, as we planned to stand up
additional SSFs, we included critical medical support coverage
planning, services, and screenings, with a particular focus on
pediatric care. As we have done for several years prior to fiscal year
2021, we have continued to expand the scope and scale of CBP medical
support services.
The CBP medical support construct was carefully crafted over
several years with extensive internal and external subject-matter
expert consultation and input to tailor it to CBP's unique mission and
law enforcement role. Our medical construct relies on contract medical
personnel for initial assessment, basic acute care, and referral to
local health systems for complex, urgent, or emergent health care and
urgent or emergent mental health care needs. We provide public health
and infectious disease support--including COVID-19, and medical
summaries upon transfer or release from temporary CBP custody.
Currently CBP's medical contract allows for up to 800 medical
personnel, with close to 300 personnel providing medical support along
the Southwest Border on any given day at more than 70 facilities.
Children brought into temporary CBP custody receive health intake
interviews, including COVID-19 considerations and temperature checks,
as well as medical assessments, including trauma-informed behavioral
health considerations, to identify issues requiring further attention.
Our contract medical providers are trained, licensed, and credentialed
to care for children, and we have developed additional training for CBP
medical providers regarding trauma-informed care and psychological
triage/psychological first aid for children in our temporary custody.
We continue to incorporate trauma-informed behavioral health care
considerations into our medical support efforts. The CBP chief medical
officer (CMO) has worked with the DHS CMO and the Flores medical
monitor to review and assess CBP trauma-informed care efforts and
identify additional enhancements. CBP contract medical providers are
trained, licensed, and credentialed to identify trauma-informed
behavioral health concerns in children in custody and conduct
psychological triage, psychological first aid, coordinate referral for
further care, and prioritize children for transfer out of CBP custody.
CBP continues to refine and enhance its trauma-informed care
efforts, in coordination with internal and external expert
stakeholders, including the DHS CMO and the Flores medical monitor. The
CBP approach is increasingly emphasizing 3 core elements: Awareness and
training; trauma-informed medical support; and trauma-informed holding
processes. CBP has implemented a layered approach to behavioral health
support to ensure that no single point of failure exists. Agents and
officers who identify urgent or emergent behavioral health issues refer
or transfer children to local health systems as appropriate. CBP has
added caregivers similar to daycare personnel at high-volume UC
facilities to provide support to children in custody, CBP medical
personnel conduct assessments, psychological triage, psychological
first aid, and referral for behavioral health issues, and we have
implemented the use of licensed, trained, and credentialed behavioral
health advisors to provide expert consultation, reach-back, and
behavioral health program support.
conclusion
Much has changed in the way CBP cares for children in our temporary
custody in recent years. In addition to the duties of safeguarding
National security and facilitating lawful trade and travel, the men and
women of CBP do their best to ensure children temporarily in our
custody receive appropriate care. Implementing the lessons learned from
the fiscal year 2019 migration surge and establishing process
efficiencies and a trusted partnership with fellow Federal agencies has
allowed CBP to embody the advocacy mentality each of our agents,
officers, and interagency partners possesses to be able to streamline
the processing of UCs in our temporary custody.
We will continue to assess and reassess our performance, processes,
and procedures to find areas where we can further improve. We have made
great strides in moving UCs out of our temporary custody and into ORR
care. We will continue to refine our whole-of-Government approach as
trusted partners across Federal agencies.
Based on my personal experiences over 36 years, I can attest to the
humanity and compassion of the CBP workforce, and I can assure you,
there is no shortage of kindness for those children, even if it is just
a few moments of individual attention. I am extremely proud to be here
today to represent the men and women of CBP.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify. I look forward to your
questions.
Chairwoman Barragan. Well, thank you for your testimony.
I would now like to recognize Ms. Dueholm to summarize her
statement for 5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF KATHERINE DUEHOLM, ACTING DEPUTY ASSISTANT
SECRETARY FOR WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
STATE
Ms. Dueholm. Thank you very much, Madam Chairwoman, Mr.
Chairman, Ranking Member Katko, Ranking Member Higgins,
distinguished Members of the subcommittee, and my fellow
panelists. Thank you very much for the opportunity to be here
with you today to talk about this important issue. I really
welcome the opportunity to further discuss how we are managing
unaccompanied children at the border.
I believe we have a common goal here, and that is how to
humanely manage migration while looking after the most
vulnerable among us and that is the children of our region.
I would like to use my testimony today to summarize for you
the State Department's role in this process. You will have
seen, of course, that we have had a lot of engagement in the
region recently, including Vice President Harris's trip to
Guatemala and Mexico. Last week, Secretary Blinken was in Costa
Rica meeting with his counterparts from throughout the region
and Mexico. Special Envoy Zuniga has made numerous trips to the
region, and I had the opportunity to travel to Honduras and El
Salvador just a few weeks ago where I spoke with officials, met
with civil society, private sector, and others on the ground,
and was able to observe some of our projects that were put in
place to address some of these challenges.
Today, we have a delegation meeting at the regional meeting
of the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework in Costa Rica
where they are further exploring opportunities to work
collaboratively to address these issues. Our engagements are
driven by the Executive Order 14010, which calls for a holistic
approach to this migration challenge. What that means is that
not only are my colleagues on the panel working on immigration
challenges, our policy and controls at the border, but that we
also need to be looking at how to manage migration flows from
throughout the region, as well as getting at the factors that
are causing people to seek to make that dangerous journey to
begin with.
State Department is engaged in 2 strategies to address
these challenges. The first that I would like to discuss is the
comprehensive migration management strategy. There are 2 Ms
there. We are working to collaboratively strengthen migration
management throughout the region with our partners, and what
that entails is focusing on fostering secure and humane order
management, working to provide increased protection options,
opening up opportunities for legal pathways for migration, and
also providing reintegration and assistance to those who have
been returned from our borders so that they do not seek to make
that journey again. We are working collaboratively toward that
end. We believe that those can make a real difference in
addressing the migration flows.
But what we really have to do to get at what is causing
that is also to look at the root causes which is our second
strategy, the root causes of migration strategy. In this
strategy, we are taking a whole-of-Government approach. We are
looking at a community-based, targeted, focused strategy to
work with communities to address the things that are causing
people to leave their homes to seek a better future.
We have spoken with migrants, with would-be migrants, as
well as with the communities in these countries to learn what
is causing this migration flow. So we are going to be
concentrating the root causes strategy on some of those key
areas. That includes security concerns, lack of economic
opportunity, safeguarding the rights of citizens and addressing
corruption and governance challenges. I do want to underline
that latter part because we recognize that addressing those
challenges will be central to our ability to achieve success in
any of the other areas. So we will continue to focus on
corruption and transparency challenges as we move forward with
both of these strategies.
Congress is a key partner in this, and we look forward to
working closely with you. I welcome the opportunity to work
with you in the weeks and months ahead, and I look forward to
your questions and comments. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Dueholm follows:]
Prepared Statement of Katherine Dueholm
June 10, 2021
introduction
Madam Chairwoman, Ranking Member, and Members of the House Homeland
Security Subcommittee on Border Security, Facilitation, and
Operations--thank you for inviting me here today. As the Acting Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Mexico and Central America, I am honored to
have this opportunity to speak with you on this important issue.
Keeping Congress apprised of our efforts and working with you on how
best to tackle the region's considerable challenges is a key part of my
job. I look forward to discussing the State Department's work on the
Root Causes Strategy and Collaborative Migration Management Strategy
(CMMS) with you, particularly as they relate to the region's most
vulnerable, its children.
We are dedicated to achieving sustainable solutions to the region's
irregular migration challenges and protecting its children, as
reflected in the President's $4 billion, 4-year plan to address the
root causes of irregular migration from Central America. Just this week
the Vice President completed a trip to Guatemala and Mexico. Last week
Secretary Blinken met with the region's foreign ministers in Costa
Rica. Last month, I traveled to Honduras and El Salvador with senior
officials from USAID to engage with government officials, civil society
organizations, and human rights leaders. At every opportunity, we are
conveying the commitment of the United States to strengthen
collaborative efforts to manage migration throughout North and Central
America and address the root causes driving irregular migration.
strategies background
In order to deal with these long-standing challenges in Northern
Central America, President Biden issued Executive Order 14010,
directing the U.S. Government to prepare a Root Causes Strategy to
identify and prioritize actions to address the underlying factors
leading to irregular migration in, through, and from the region and a
Collaborative Management Strategy to identify and prioritize actions to
strengthen cooperative efforts to manage migration.
root causes
The Root Causes Strategy will take a coordinated, place-based
approach to mitigate the underlying causes that push Central Americans
to migrate and ``take(s) into account, as appropriate, the views of
bilateral, multilateral, and private-sector partners, as well as civil
society.'' Our intent is that the Strategy lay out a framework to use
the policy, resources, and diplomacy of the United States, as well as
leverage the expertise and resources of a broad group of public and
private stakeholders, to build hope for citizens in the region that the
life they desire can be found at home, dissuading minors from
undertaking the perilous journey and allowing parents to keep their
children home.
The Root Causes Strategy will focus on the most commonly-cited
factors limiting progress in Central America, particularly those
related to economic opportunity, human rights, governance and
transparency, and crime and insecurity.
cmms
The CMMS is the first U.S. Government strategy to focus on
strengthening cooperative efforts across North and Central America to
humanely manage migration, and includes a focus on increasing access to
protection, assisting and reintegrating returned persons, enhancing
access to legal pathways for migration, and fostering secure and humane
border management. We and our partners are already engaging on many of
the lines of work in the CMMS, and this strategy will focus and expand
this work around strategic objectives. The CMMS will also help guide
U.S. diplomatic engagements with governments in the region and outside
the Western Hemisphere, including through multilateral fora and
platforms, such as the Regional Conference on Migration and the
Comprehensive Regional Protections and Solutions Framework.
Together, the CMMS and the Root Causes Strategy will guide our
efforts to foster a more stable region; strengthen cooperative efforts
to manage migration, provide protection, assistance, and legal pathways
for those who choose to migrate or are forced to flee; and, ultimately,
reduce irregular migration.
recent governance challenges
As we seek to address these issues, we are confronting governance
challenges in Central America, specifically in El Salvador, Guatemala,
and Honduras. Democracy and good governance are central to the success
of our efforts because corruption and poor governance have fueled the
rise in irregular migration. Certain political actors in these 3
countries have shown an increasing disregard for the rule of law, a
fully independent judiciary, and efforts to stem endemic corruption. In
April, some members of Guatemala's Congress manipulated the selection
of its Constitutional Court in a non-transparent manner. Last month,
Guatemalan authorities arrested several prominent former officials and
anticorruption advocates critical of the government, including 2
individuals who collaborated on a corruption investigation involving
former President Otto Perez Molina. In El Salvador last month,
President Nayib Bukele's Nuevas Ideas party ousted the magistrates of
the Supreme Court's constitutional chamber and the Attorney General and
used irregular means to fill those positions. In a positive
development, Honduras just passed a long-awaited electoral reform bill
in May, which we hope lays the groundwork for free and fair elections.
next steps
As we approach the implementation phase of the strategies, we look
forward to continuing consultations with Congress as a key stakeholder
in managing migration and addressing the root causes of irregular
migration and a partner in holding the region's governments accountable
to their commitments.
I'll conclude by reiterating that we understand the significance
and difficulty of the challenges ahead, and I look forward to working
with all of you on these issues and look forward to your questions.
Chairwoman Barragan. Thank you, for your testimony.
I now recognize Mr. Lechleitner to summarize his statement
for 5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF PATRICK J. LECHLEITNER, ACTING EXECUTIVE ASSOCIATE
DIRECTOR, HOMELAND SECURITY INVESTIGATIONS, U.S. IMMIGRATION
AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Mr. Lechleitner. Chairwoman Barragan, Ranking Member
Higgins, and distinguished Members of the subcommittee on
Border Security Facilitation and Operations, thank you for the
opportunity to appear before you today and discuss the efforts
of Homeland Security Investigations to secure our homeland from
transnational crime and threats and to elaborate on HSI's
investigate role in preventing the smuggling and trafficking of
people, including unaccompanied children into the United
States.
As the principal investigative arm of the Department of
Homeland Security, our core mission is to protect the United
States from transnational crime and threats. The crimes of
smuggling and trafficking align with many of HSI's operational
priorities and are a primary focus of HSI's investigations.
Human smuggling involves providing a service, typically
transportation, navigation, or fraudulent documents to
facilitate an individual's unauthorized entry into a foreign
country. Human smuggling organizations profit by charging fees
for smuggling noncitizens into and throughout the United States
and by collecting transit fees when smugglers and their clients
travel through territory controlled by cartels or other TCOs.
These criminal networks are almost exclusively driven by money,
seeing humans as just another commodity to be moved across
borders for profit.
While human smuggling may constitute the initial crime
facilitating the illicit movement of people, including minors
to our borders, the criminality does not stop there. In some
cases, migrants become victims of human or labor trafficking
when criminal networks introduce force, fraud, or coercion into
smuggling schemes to bring victims into forced labor or
commercial sex.
If the victim is under 18, sex trafficking occurs when the
victim is induced to perform commercial sex. Force, fraud, or
coercion is not required. To be clear, trafficking is a crime
of exploitation. It does not require movement across a border.
Additionally, HSI's investigations have determined that
human smuggling often occurs alongside or can be a precursor to
other transnational crimes such as gang activity, identity
benefit fraud, money laundering, bulk cash smuggling, narcotics
smuggling, arms trafficking, and terrorism and National
security-related crime among others.
The complex transnational nature of the crimes surrounding
human smuggling requires a strong and layered investigative
response which HSI implements on multiple fronts. This starts
abroad where HSI has the largest international investigative
presence within DHS comprised of 80 offices in over 50
countries. HSI's special agents assigned to work with our
foreign law enforcement counterparts to investigate and
prosecute TCOs operating abroad while conducting capacity-
building efforts designed to enhance the capabilities of host
country partners to prevent cross-border crime at the earliest
point of the smuggling event. HSI's Transnational Criminal
Investigative Units (TCIUs), the Biometric Identification
Transnational Migration Alert Program (BITMAP), Operation
CITADEL and the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel program (ECT)
are key elements of HSI's international efforts designed to
push our borders out and effectively identify and mitigate
threats before they reach the United States.
HSI's efforts continue at the border and within the
hundreds of domestic field offices throughout the United States
where HSI's special agents respond to and investigate potential
human smuggling and trafficking crimes. These investigative
leads come to us in a variety of ways, including border
interdictions, referrals from local law enforcement partners,
confidential informants and sources of information, tip line or
social media reporting, community and public outreach, criminal
analysis and information gleaning from existing operations. HSI
develops and receives information and leads involving human
smuggling and trafficking in the same way regardless of U.S.
involvement. Upon receiving information into a potential
violation, we use all of our authorities and expertise to
pursue, investigate, and attack all aspects of organizations
responsible. These efforts are supported by the HSI Victim
Assistance Program which enables HSI to take a victim-centered
approach to its investigations, working with all levels of
government and NGO's to provide necessary services to
identified victims. Additionally, the HSI-led DHS Center for
Countering Human Trafficking is another important operational
support element integrating the efforts of 16 DHS component
agencies and offices to centralize and coordinate diverse
functions, all in support of investigations, victim protection
efforts, outreach, and training activities focused on
combatting the scourge of human trafficking. Together, HSI's
efforts to combat cross-border crime facilitates and enhances
the application of our full range of authorities and enable us
and our partners to maximize the disruptive effort against TCOs
engaged in smuggling and trafficking. These efforts help secure
our borders and uphold the National security and public safety
of the United States.
Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you
today and for your continued support of HSI and the critical
investigative role it plays in investigating the TCOs that
facilitate and profit from human smuggling, trafficking, and
related crimes. I look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Lechleitner follows:]
Prepared Statement of Patrick J. Lechleitner
Thursday, June 10, 2021
Chairwoman Barragan, Ranking Member Higgins, and distinguished
Members of the Subcommittee on Border Security, Facilitation, and
Operations:
introduction
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security
Investigations' (HSI) efforts to secure the homeland from transnational
crime and threats and elaborate on HSI's investigative role in
preventing the smuggling and trafficking of people, including
unaccompanied children (UCs), into the United States. This statement
will highlight our international efforts throughout Latin America, as
well as our investigations and operations within the United States,
that seek to mitigate human smuggling and trafficking, while addressing
related crimes such as transnational gang activity.
the hsi mission
In collaboration with strategic partners in the United States and
abroad, HSI special agents gather evidence to identify and build
criminal cases against transnational criminal organizations (TCOs),
terrorist networks and facilitators, and other criminal elements that
threaten the homeland. HSI works with prosecutors to indict and arrest
violators, execute criminal search warrants, seize criminally-derived
money and assets, and take other actions designed to disrupt and
dismantle criminal organizations operating around the world.
HSI's core mission is to protect the homeland from transnational
crime and threats, and its operational priorities serve as the
foundation of HSI's investigative and operational focus--combating
financial crime, investigating cyber crime, preventing crimes of
exploitation, ensuring public safety, upholding fairness in global
trade, and protecting National security. The crimes associated with
human smuggling and trafficking, including those involving UCs, involve
many of these priorities and therefore constitute a primary focus of
HSI's investigations.
the nature of the threat
Human smuggling involves the provision of a service--typically
transportation, navigation, or fraudulent documents--to facilitate an
individual's unauthorized entry into a foreign country. Over the last 5
years, nationals of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala (referred to
as the Northern Triangle countries), and Mexico, who migrate due to
violence, poverty, limited economic opportunity, amongst other reasons,
have comprised the majority of undocumented noncitizens encountered
without authorization along the Southwest Border.
Extremely harsh terrains and travel conditions, combined with the
potential detection by law enforcement and the threat of violence posed
by cartels controlling territory along smuggling routes across Central
America and Mexico, make it difficult for migrants to travel from their
home countries and reach our borders without the assistance of
smugglers. Criminal organizations step in and to facilitate the illegal
smuggling of these noncitizens across our borders. U.S.-bound human
smuggling and related criminal activities are estimated by the Homeland
Security Operational Analysis Center to produce revenues of $2 billion
to $6 billion per year.
Human smuggling organizations profit by charging fees for smuggling
undocumented noncitizens into and throughout the United States and by
collecting transit fees when smugglers and their clients travel through
territory controlled by cartels or other TCOs. These groups are almost
exclusively financially driven and see humans as just another commodity
to be moved across borders. Human smuggling enterprises and cartels
often maintain a symbiotic relationship, both with cartels controlling
the major U.S. and foreign drug markets, while smuggling networks
control the smuggling flow, otherwise known as ``illicit pathways.''
Cartels or other TCOs have traditionally charged a ``plaza'' or tariff
on migrants and human smuggling organizations to transit through their
territory or operate in certain border towns. However, since mid-2019,
some have taken a more active approach in human smuggling, increasing
and diversifying sources of income with an activity they view as low-
risk.
While human smuggling may constitute the initial crime facilitating
the illicit movement of people, including UCs, to our borders, the
criminality does not stop there. In some cases, migrants become victims
of human or labor trafficking--a crime of exploitation that does not
require movement--when criminal networks introduce force, fraud, or
coercion into smuggling schemes to induce victims into forced labor or
commercial sex. If the victim is under age 18, sex trafficking occurs
when the victim is induced to perform commercial sex--force, fraud, or
coercion is not required. For example, in May, HSI identified and
rescued a victim who was forced into labor after entering the United
States. The victim entered the United States as a UC and was
subsequently forced to work and live in substandard conditions, with
minimal remuneration.
HSI's investigations have also demonstrated that human smuggling
often occurs alongside or can be a precursor to other transnational
crimes such as gang activity, identity and benefit fraud, money
laundering, bulk cash smuggling, narcotics smuggling, arms trafficking,
and terrorism and other National security-related crime.
the hsi response
The multi-faceted, complex, transnational nature of the crimes
surrounding human smuggling requires an equally robust and layered
investigative response, which HSI implements on multiple fronts. This
starts abroad, where HSI has the largest international investigative
presence in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), comprised of 80
offices in over 50 countries with 41 visa security screening posts.
This approach continues domestically, where HSI special agents and
criminal analysts assigned to over 220 offices across the United States
respond to and pursue investigations into illicit smuggling and
trafficking. Both at home and abroad, HSI special agents utilize a
broad range of legal authorities to identify, investigate, disrupt, and
ultimately dismantle domestic and transnational criminal organizations
engaged in human smuggling and human trafficking. With finite
resources, HSI must employ a whole-of-Government approach to combating
this threat. This strategy includes capacity building with host country
partners overseas; leveraging domestic and international relationships;
providing resources and technologies to create efficiencies of scale;
and cross-pollinating expertise and leadership to other Federal, State,
local, and international law enforcement partners. Together, this
approach facilitates and enhances the application of HSI's full range
of authorities and enables HSI and its partners to maximize their
disruptive effect against TCOs engaged in smuggling and trafficking.
International Operations
In 2011, HSI established the Transnational Criminal Investigative
Unit (TCIU) Program to act as a force multiplier in the fight against
TCOs. HSI TCIUs are comprised of foreign law enforcement officials,
customs officers, immigration officers, and prosecutors who undergo a
strict vetting process. Upon completion of vetting, candidates must
complete a 3-week International Task-force Agent Training course. HSI
TCIUs facilitate information exchange and rapid bilateral
investigations involving violations that HSI has the authority to
investigate, including weapons trafficking and counter-proliferation,
money laundering and bulk cash smuggling, human smuggling and
trafficking, narcotics smuggling, transnational gang activity, child
exploitation, and cyber crime. TCIUs enhance the host country's ability
to investigate and prosecute individuals involved in transnational
criminal activity that threatens the stability and security of the
region and ultimately our homeland security. More than 430 vetted and
trained foreign law enforcement officers comprise the 11 TCIUs and 2
International Task Force units. HSI special agents are uniquely
positioned to partner with TCIU personnel to provide critical
intelligence and resources to allow our partners to take appropriate
enforcement action under the authority of the host country.
HSI's Operation CITADEL aims to identify, disrupt, and dismantle
TCOs and terrorist support networks by targeting the mechanisms used to
move migrants, illicit funds, and contraband throughout South and
Central America. CITADEL provides resources to enhance foreign
partners' investigative, intelligence, and information-sharing
capabilities to counter transnational threats and organized crime. This
assistance, in turn, provides HSI the ability to expand domestic and
international investigations well beyond U.S. borders and to more
effectively target the illicit pathways exploited by TCOs. CITADEL
facilitates training and capacity-building through cross-border
operations with partner nation TCIUs, undercover operations,
judicially-approved wire intercepts, and document and media
exploitation at ports of entry and along smuggling routes.
Investigative activities also include sensitive site exploitation/
evidence collection and biometric collection of extraterritorial
criminal travel (ECT) subjects of special interest.
HSI's ECT program is a partnership between HSI and the U.S.
Department of Justice's Criminal Division, Human Rights and Special
Prosecutions Section. ECT supports the National strategy to combat
terrorism and international organized crime. The program uses expert
dedicated investigative, prosecutorial, and intelligence resources to
target and aggressively pursue, disrupt, and dismantle foreign-based
transnational human smuggling networks. ECT supports the highest
priority human smuggling investigations posing the greatest National
security and public safety threats. These include investigations
concerning special interest noncitizens and investigations that pose a
significant humanitarian concern, to include maritime smuggling events,
extortion, kidnapping, and corruption, among others.
Pushing our borders out to effectively identify and mitigate
threats before they reach the United States remains a priority for DHS,
HSI, and our counterparts. A tool in this fight is the Biometric
Identification Transnational Migration Alert Program (BITMAP). HSI
trains and equips TCIUs and other cooperating foreign law enforcement
officers to collect and share biometric and biographic data on suspects
of particular interest, such as third-country nationals who are
encountered by foreign law enforcement agencies at or along irregular
border-crossing check points, illicit pathways, airports, seaports,
jails, detention centers, and specialized mobile units. Foreign law
enforcement partners share their collected BITMAP information with HSI,
and this biometric data is used to populate United States databases and
subsequently identify transnational criminals; known or suspected
terrorists; gang members; and other persons of interest. BITMAP
information is also used to provide host nation law enforcement
partners with actionable intelligence related to terrorist, criminal,
and National security threats. Additionally, information shared by
foreign partners through BITMAP supports Homeland Security Presidential
Directives 24 and 6 directions related to biometric collection and
information integration. The program also aligns with United Nations
Security Council Resolution 2396.
Domestic Operations
To complement its international focus, HSI's efforts continue at
the border and within our field offices throughout the United States,
where HSI special agents respond to and investigate human smuggling
schemes that are encountered or identified in the United States. These
leads come to us in a variety of ways, including border interdictions;
referrals from Federal, State, and local law enforcement partners;
confidential informants and sources of information; tip line or social
media reporting; community relations and public affairs outreach;
criminal analysis/targeting; and information gleaned from existing
operations. HSI develops and receives information and leads involving
human smuggling in the same way whether or not the offense includes or
involves UCs.
Upon receiving information into a potential smuggling crime, HSI
utilizes the full breadth of its authorities and expertise to pursue
the investigation and attack all aspects of the organizations
responsible. HSI prioritizes its investigations based on National
security threats, the involvement of TCOs in the smuggling or
trafficking scheme, and the public safety and endangerment aspects of
the violation.
HSI's approach to human smuggling investigations can be illustrated
through on-going investigative efforts by HSI. In late 2020, HSI
identified a large-scale, international human smuggling organization
consisting of a network of local load drivers, tractor-trailer drivers,
stash houses, and money couriers. Through partnership and coordination
with the USBP and other law enforcement partners, HSI has conducted 12
smuggling interdiction operations, resulting in over 350 undocumented
individual apprehensions and the criminal arrest of multiple smuggling
facilitators. The smuggling events were linked to a common organization
through a combination of investigative techniques, including
surveillance, interviews, confidential source information, and criminal
intelligence analysis. A total of 18 minor children, 7 of whom were
unaccompanied, have been encountered on various dates throughout the
enforcement operations conducted in this case.
To date, the HSI investigation has led to the identification of
multiple members of the smuggling organization, stash houses, load
drivers, and most recently the regional head of the smuggling network.
HSI and its partners continue to develop information from various
sources, including financial analysis, interviews, and surveillance, in
an effort to expand the network, to focus on the command-and-control
structure, foreign and domestic.
HSI special agents employ similar investigative strategies and
techniques every day across the United States, in the on-going fight to
identify and disrupt the TCOs responsible for smuggling undocumented
noncitizens. While some of the smuggling events or organizations under
investigation by HSI may involve UCs, the techniques and tactics
utilized by HSI to disrupt and dismantle these organizations remain the
same, irrespective of whether UCs are involved or not. In fiscal year
2020, HSI initiated 2,461 human smuggling investigations, conducted
3,712 criminal arrests, secured 1,592 indictments and 1,538 convictions
for human smuggling offenses.
While human smuggling is often tied to human trafficking, they are,
in fact, 2 distinct crimes that HSI investigates. Human trafficking
does not require crossing a border. Human trafficking victims have been
exploited by their trafficker for commercial sex acts or forced labor.
Human trafficking victims can be any age, race, gender, nationality, or
immigration status. By contrast, human smugglers engage in the crime of
bringing people into the United States, or unlawfully transporting and
harboring people already in the United States, in deliberate evasion of
immigration law. As referenced earlier, however, human smuggling
situations may transition to human trafficking when the elements of
force, fraud, or coercion are introduced into the smuggling event, or
when a victim under age 18 is induced to perform commercial sex.
One of the most difficult challenges facing law enforcement
officers is distinguishing between the incidents of human trafficking
and human smuggling. Parts of the modus operandi of trafficking and
smuggling are very similar--which makes it harder for law enforcement
officers to separate the 2 types of crime. It is very difficult to
detect trafficking in transit and at border points; in many cases, it
may not be possible to distinguish between trafficking and smuggling
until the transportation phase has ended and the exploitation phase has
begun. Prior to this, there may be little noticeable difference between
a group of trafficked persons and a group of smuggled migrants; in
fact, one ``shipment'' of individuals could include persons destined
for exploitation (trafficking victims) and persons who are being moved
from one country to another for financial or material benefit (smuggled
migrants).
When UCs are encountered, it is exceedingly difficult to determine
if the child is being exploited or destined to be a forced labor or sex
trafficking victim because normally, the crime has not yet occurred,
and the UC would not know that forced labor or sex trafficking awaits
them. In some cases, the victimization may have begun in one country
and then continues in the United States but only once it occurs in the
United States does it fall under HSI's jurisdiction. Additionally, most
foreign national human trafficking victims enter the United States on a
visa, via various official ports of entry, as opposed to presenting at
the Southwest Border. However, when UCs are encountered along the
Southwest Border, typically U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the
Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement
are the U.S. agencies involved in identifying victims. There is no data
that suggests UCs crossing the Southwest Border are any more vulnerable
to human trafficking than they are to other forms of exploitation and
crime. It should be noted that HSI maintains a robust Victim Assistance
Program, poised to work with all levels of government and NGO's to
provide necessary services to identified victims. Further, The HSI-led
Center for Countering Human Trafficking (CCHT) integrates the efforts
of 16 DHS component agencies and offices and establishes an
organizational mechanism to harmonize, leverage, centralize and
coordinate diverse functions to support Federal criminal and civil
investigations, victim protection efforts, intelligence analysis, and
outreach and training activities to combat human trafficking.
If there is a U.S. nexus, HSI special agents are charged with
conducting criminal investigations into the TCOs responsible for the
trafficking. Similar to HSI's human smuggling cases, human trafficking
leads come from a variety of sources, including partner agencies, and
HSI utilizes multiple investigative techniques to pursue the case and
hold offenders responsible. HSI's human trafficking investigations are
conducted by investigative groups in each of HSI's Special Agent in
Charge field offices, many of whom have agents that participate in
almost 90 human trafficking task forces Nation-wide consisting of
Federal, State, and local law enforcement, as well as victim service
providers. These investigations have a two-fold mission. First, to
proactively identify, disrupt, and dismantle domestic and transnational
human trafficking organizations and minimize the risk they pose to
National security and public safety. Second, to employ a victim-
centered approach, whereby equal value is placed on the identification,
rescue, and stabilization of victims as well as the investigation and
prosecution of traffickers. In fiscal year 2020, HSI initiated 947
human trafficking cases, reported 1,746 criminal arrests, 400
convictions, and identified and assisted 418 victims of human
trafficking.
Another aspect of HSI's efforts to investigate crimes affiliated
with human smuggling involves transnational gangs and investigations
into their members and operations in the United States. HSI's National
Gang Unit (NGU) has not observed specific gang recruitment, membership,
or affiliation associated with the recent surge in UC encounters along
the Southwest Border. However, with any increase in unauthorized
migration from the Northern Triangle, it is possible that transnational
gangs such as La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) or 18th Street could
capitalize on any vulnerabilities in the process.
To mitigate any future or potential risks, HSI and partners
continue to focus efforts on the command-and-control structure of MS-13
and 18th Street, conducting large-scale, complex, proactive domestic
and international investigations. These investigations, worked in
collaboration with State, local, Federal, and international
counterparts serve a strong deterrent effect to those that may seek to
exploit our Nation's laws. Further, enhanced training of foreign and
domestic counterparts, as well as integrating foreign vetted-unit
police officers in select HSI field offices serves to cross-pollinate
expertise across a broad programmatic spectrum. This integration of
efforts will aid in increased cooperation and unity of effort across
all levels of government, domestic and abroad.
conclusion
Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you today and
for your continued support of HSI and the critical investigative role
it plays in investigating the TCOs that facilitate and profit from
human smuggling and related cross-border crimes. HSI remains committed
to its mission to secure the homeland from transnational crime and
threats and to uphold the National security and public safety of the
United States. I look forward to our questions.
Chairwoman Barragan. Thank you.
I want to thank the witnesses for their testimony. I will
remind the subcommittee that we will each have 5 minutes to
question the panel. I will now recognize myself for 5 minutes.
Yesterday, CBP released its operational update for May 2021
which showed a record number of encounters at the Southern
Border.
Mr. Shahoulian, can you put this number into perspective
and describe who is presenting at the border and the trends
that DHS is observing?
Mr. Shahoulian. Sure. Thank you for the question. I would
be happy to, Chairwoman.
So we are seeing very high numbers of encounters, as you
indicated. We saw 180,000 in May. We are seeing that it is
marginally led by single adults and that there is a high level
of repeating counties amongst single adults and what we are
seeing is that basically half of the encounters that we are
seeing, of total encounters, are unique encounters. So there is
essentially a 50 percent repeat encounter for single adults.
What we have seen in May is that the trend for decreased
numbers of unaccompanied children and families did continue. So
we are seeing a continued downward trend in those numbers. So I
think what we can say is that although the numbers, again, I
think just that we are going to compare these numbers, and I
know to, for example, prior surges like the surge in 2019,
although we have, again, higher numbers of total encounters,
the number of unique encounters is lower.
Chairwoman Barragan. OK. Thank you so much for that.
Mr. Huffman, over the last few months, CBP has worked to
quickly build its capacity to handle unaccompanied children.
This includes standing up multiple soft-sided facilities,
deploying volunteers to help with processing, and expanding
child care services contracts. What additional efforts is CBP
undertaking to support the care and custody of unaccompanied
children they encounter?
Mr. Huffman. Thank you for that question. I appreciate the
opportunity to address that because it has been from my
perspective and my years of experience, this has kind-of been a
big success for us because we have had to deal with surges of
unaccompanied children before and it has not been as successful
at moving them out of our custody.
I think what is important to understand is that how we
manage unaccompanied children is a whole-of-Government effort.
It is not just CBP's challenge; it is HHS's challenge and those
who help as well. So the thing that we did differently this
time was when we stood up--we applied more of a whole-of-
Government approach this time that when we stood up the MCC and
we got FEMA in the room, we got HHS in the room, and us in the
room, and ICE in the room, we were able to come up with better
solutions to move these folks out. We did several things. We
had to move large volumes of people. FEMA assisted them in
setting up to build their capacity. But you build capacity 2
ways. You build capacity by increasing your real estate and you
build capacity by increasing your efficiencies. So we tapped it
both ways. We were able to stand up capacity to move large
groups of kids out, but at the same time we fine-tune our
efficiencies so we could focus on folks that were difficult to
move. We started an initiative where every day we would
[inaudible]. We would start with the top 15 children in our
custody that have been there the longest and personalize each
one of those children until we could get them moved out. Find
out what unique problems we were having getting them into HHS
custody and we did that. We did it by developing what we call
an advocacy mentality for each child in our custody and driving
those numbers down to move them out. So I think the best thing
we did in addition to the medical services you mentioned, the
food and the care and those things, was to get out a process to
get them out of our custody as fast as possible and into the
hands of child care professionals at HHS. I still think and so
to this day that is the best thing we can do is maximize our
process and our efficiencies to move them onto those who are
truly trying to deal with them.
Apart from that fact, we did increase our capabilities with
caregivers, medical contracts, medical services, and all those
things across.
Chairwoman Barragan. Thank you. Thank you, sir.
Ms. Dueholm, to address the challenge at our Southern
Border, the Biden administration instituted a whole-of-
Government and whole-of-community effort. It brought in
hundreds of Federal Government volunteers according with local
government and organizations to help provide care for migrants.
Similarly, a global approach will be needed to address the root
causes of migration.
Please describe what outreach the Biden administration has
done to other foreign governments or international
organizations to help address the root causes of migration.
Maybe you can touch a little bit on how the efforts have
been impacted by the pandemic.
Ms. Dueholm. Sure. Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
We have been doing a great deal of outreach to the
governments in the region. I mentioned earlier some in-person
visits that we have had, but we also, of course, have our
embassies in the region continuously engaging with our partners
out in the region. We also engage very regularly through our
missions with communities, and we have undertaken as part of
the root causes strategy a very deliberate process of outreach
to the communities. One thing that is kind-of interesting about
the pandemic is in some ways, while it is difficult to bring
people together in person, I have had the opportunity, for
instance, to speak with groups in the countries, both youth
groups and faith groups and civil society groups via the
miracle of virtual meetings. So we have conducted a number of
those sorts of meetings, as well as with civil society here in
the United States.
From the State Department, just as part of this root causes
strategy, we have consulted over 35 different civil society
organizations and some of those are umbrella groups that
include dozens of different civil society groups. So, we really
are focused on getting as broad a range as possible of
consultations to best understand the challenges that are
driving this and the solutions that can present themselves.
Chairwoman Barragan. Thank you so much. I apologize; my
time has expired. I am looking forward to hearing more from
your testimony with other questions from the other panelists.
I now would like to recognize the Ranking Member of the
subcommittee, the gentleman from Louisiana, Mr. Higgins, for
questions.
Mr. Higgins. Thank you, Madam Chair. Again, I thank our
witnesses for being here today.
Madam Chair, obviously, a massive increase in illegal
border crossings is going to include a massive increase of
unaccompanied children illegally crossing the border. This
should not be a surprise. We are dealing with historically high
illegal crossings at our Southern Border. It is a simple fact
that we have to get our head wrapped around here. My numbers,
my research has us at about 1.1 million illegal crossings. The
official numbers are less, around three-quarters of a million.
My numbers include law enforcement, boots on the ground,
estimates of getaways. It is from a very reasonable
perspective. We are dealing with over a million illegal
crossings. We are trending to have 2 million illegal crossings
this year. We cannot allow this to happen. We will lose the
sovereignty of our Nation. It is our duty, our sworn oath and
responsibility as Congressional representatives in the People's
House for the United States of America to serve the American
citizen and to protect the sovereignty of our country. We must
just take an objective viewpoint of this. It is very clear what
is happening. I mean, what changed? What changed since last
year and the year before? Why we had historic highs is
obviously because of policies. You know, what happened? January
20 happened and then Executive Orders happened. So we are
dealing with the results of that and we have got to force
action out of our Executive. We cannot just cover for them with
scripted speeches. We must force action.
Mr. Shahoulian, I hope I quoted you correct, sir. You said,
I took in my notes that you said that, ``There are complicated
causes, various and complicated causes for the illegal surge of
immigrants we are facing at historic levels at our Southern
Border. I mean, what do you mean by that? We had the same 1,954
miles of Southern Border that we had under President Trump. We
had the same agents on the ground. The same sectors of command-
and-control across SSR Southern Border. We have got the same
boots on the ground. What has changed? In your opinion, why are
we facing historic highs here?
Most Americans get it that it is because we had a change in
the Executive. Can you not just admit that and let's look at
policies of the previous administration and try to fix this
thing? I will give you the floor, good sir.
Mr. Shahoulian. Thank you, sir. Thank you for the question.
I am just going to start off by saying that I respectfully
disagree. Again, the causes of migration surges which every
administration from the Bush administration, the Clinton
administration, the Trump administration, the Biden
administration have all experienced. The causes of those surges
generally are primarily based on push-back. There are people
that are fleeing deteriorating conditions. Given COVID, the
deteriorating conditions in the sending countries have gotten
worse.
Mr. Higgins. You would not think the surge would have
anything to do with the invitation from the President of the
United States? Come on, man.
Mr. Shahoulian. I will point out----
Mr. Higgins. Get away from the talking points. Give
American an answer.
Mr. Shahoulian. I am going to give you one. In May 2019, we
saw higher numbers of encounters. In fact, more unique
encounters than we are seeing now. That was after 2 years of
Trump administration policies. Was that because of the Trump
administration policy? We are seeing decreased levels of
unaccompanied minors and families----
Mr. Higgins. No, we gradually got it under control. We
gradually got it under control over the course of 4 years
working with President Trump. We had everything under control.
We are facing historical levels of crossings. That is the
simple fact. It has never been this high. America is looking
for answers.
Madam Chair, I cannot see the clock but I suspect that my
time has expired.
Chairwoman Barragan. Thirty-seven seconds, sir. Thirty-
seven seconds.
Mr. Higgins. OK. I am going to give my remaining time, in
the interest of solidarity, with the President's administration
and his senior staff, I give the floor back to Mr. Shahoulian.
You have my remaining 20 seconds, sir.
Mr. Shahoulian. I will just say that the empirical evidence
is that people are fleeing deteriorating conditions. Until we
address those and we provide alternative pathways, I mean, I
will say that I am a son of a Cuban refugee. I grew up in
Miami. As a child, when I was 9 years old, I remember the
Mariel boat lift and that the city of Miami had 10 cities all
around with Cuban refugees. Then we experienced an issue with
Cubans taking to the high seas and risking their lives and lots
of death at the high seas. The way that we addressed that was
not just by clamping down. What we did was we entered the
Migration Accords in the 1990's where we provided 20,000 legal
admissions a year. It was by creating a lawful pathway that
Cubans who were seeking freedom could invest their hopes. We
were able to bring down the number of people who sought to
regularly cross through the Florida straits. So we need a
comprehensive strategy that does look at various different
avenues. That is what we are attempting to do now. Thank you,
sir.
Mr. Higgins. Thank you, Mr. Shahoulian. God bless you, sir.
Let's talk more.
Madam Chair, I yield.
Mr. Higgins. Thank you for those questions and that
testimony.
The Chair will now recognize other Members for questions
they may wish to ask the witnesses. As previously outlined, I
will recognize Members in order of seniority, alternating
between the Majority and Minority. Members are reminded to
unmute themselves when recognized for questions.
The Chair recognizes for 5 minutes the gentleman from
California, Mr. Correa.
Mr. Correa. Thank you very much, Madam Chair, for holding
this most important hearing. I, like all of us in this
committee, my heart goes out to those unaccompanied children.
As a father, I pray for those children, and like many of you, I
was in El Paso, Texas, looking at those children. I had the
opportunity to meet Una and Garilias, a 2-year-old and a 5-
year-old sisters that were thrown by smugglers over the 10-foot
wall. If it were not for those border officers that were alert,
they were able to see those children, not in a desert, they
would have perished.
I also had the opportunity to go to Tijuana to see and
interview a lot of the deported families under Section 42. This
is an interesting challenge. It is a challenge that I agree
with my colleagues. Nothing has changed in a long time. I would
say for the last 40 years this has been an issue. I have been
going to visit refugee children probably for the last 15 years.
So my question as an American and as a Congress Member trying
to address public policy here long term, how do you fix the
push factors? I agree, when you have 2 hurricanes, one in a
lifetime situations happening one after another, when you have
COVID-19, you go hungry. When you have corruption, you cannot
figure out how to run these economies efficiently.
So Mr. Shahoulian, if I can ask you a couple of questions.
Recently, Vice President Harris announced that the United
States would provide $310 million of increased assistance to
the Northern Triangle. She announced that she would be working
with 12 companies and organizations to invest these American
dollars, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.
My concern is we have been doing this for 40 years. What is
it that we can do to assure that this money does not end up in
a Swiss bank account? What do we do to make sure that it is not
spent on overhead, on bureaucracy? What do we do to make sure
that this money is invested where it needs go to? Thank you.
Mr. Shahoulian. I appreciate the question, Congressman. I
would hope, if I could, to defer to my State Department
colleague, Deputy Assistant Secretary Dueholm, who I think, I
mean, they are leading on these efforts along with USAID if
that is OK.
Mr. Correa. Ms. Dueholm. Yes, Ms. Dueholm.
Ms. Dueholm. Yes. Thank you very much, Congressman.
Certainly, we agree with you that this is an incredibly
important question as we go forward, and we are very focused on
being responsible stewards of the taxpayers' money. We very
much want to make sure that the money that is allocated to
these ends achieve the goals. So for that purpose we have very
strict end-use monitoring in place. We also are looking at
having someone directly from the OIG appointed for USAID to be
monitoring those spending related to the Northern Triangle. We
work very closely with those in the field through our embassies
and missions, through USAID, to monitor all of the spending,
and we work very closely to try and achieve the best possible
results----
Mr. Correa. I hear what you are saying. Ms. Dueholm, I hear
what you are saying. My concern is strict accountability. Does
that mean 50 cents out of every dollar is then going to be
spent on overhead?
Ms. Dueholm. That is a real challenge, Congressman. I would
say that we have 2 issues. One is if we want the
accountability, we need organizations that are able to provide
that sort of monitoring and accounting and that often does come
with a cost. But I share your interest in making sure that the
maximum amount gets to those that we are seeking to benefit. We
are constantly reevaluating and trying to get that balance
right and we will continue to do that.
Mr. Correa. Thank you. Finally, ma'am, I would say a
follow-up question here which is I think as Americans, we do
not look south of the border until we see smoke. We only act
when we see fire. Forty years in my opinion of failed policy
south of the border. We will spend a trillion dollars in
Afghanistan and we do not even look south of the border when
this is our backyard. We have to manage it and make sure if
things are not going right, we step in. As a legislature, I
think we have just got to say to folks south of the border, we
are going to be watching you and we are going to hold you
accountable because what you do affects us. You taking care of
your citizens is not only your job; it is our job as well. So I
just look forward to working with you and trying to figure out
a way for us to address these issues holistically and make sure
as legislators we force ourselves to always be looking south of
the border.
Thank you very much, and Madam Chair, I yield.
Chairwoman Barragan. Thank you, Mr. Correa.
The Chair now recognizes for 5 minutes the gentleman from
North Carolina, Mr. Bishop.
Mr. Bishop. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
Among the several hundred thousand border enforcement
encounters over the 4 complete months since the inauguration of
President Biden, I think I have got the number of about 59,000
roughly were unaccompanied children. Of course, everybody
understands that they are staying in the United States. It
would appear to me, and as I listen to testimony in this
hearing in the questions, the Biden administration policy is
all aimed in the direction of speeding the passage of UCs from
CBP to the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of
Refugee Resettlement. Of course, then they have a stay in an
influx care facility and then they are sent throughout the
country to take up residence with some family member or a
guardian or a sponsor I guess you call it.
Mr. Shahoulian, in your testimony you spoke of the top
priority being to address the needs of children, and you said
that the Biden administration has expanded capacities of agents
to speed up the processing and the placement of unaccompanied
children. Mr. Huffman cited what he called a success, moving
unaccompanied children out of CBP custody faster, both by
adding facilities and improving efficiency. Mr. Shahoulian,
again, in your comments you touted what has been done as having
completely transformed border processes. Apparently, again, it
is all aimed at eliminating overstays of unaccompanied children
with the CBP.
I would submit that this is unfortunately cruelly naive.
Here is the distinction. The Trump administration policies the
Ranking Member referred to were continually adapted to attempt
to attenuate the flow of illegal crossings. But Biden policies,
including all of those Mr. Shahoulian referred to and touts as
a success do not even make an attempt to attenuate the flow.
The success you tout is increasing the bandwidth, moving people
in faster. This tunnel vision is so bad that one of the policy
changes that HHS has made is to waive criminal background
checks for occupants who live in the households of sponsors of
unaccompanied children placed by HHS. There is a Bloomberg
article I saw from yesterday during the Energy and Commerce
hearing. I understand that the impact of this is that you are
limited to basically internet search engines to try to
determine who we are talking about you are placing people with,
and we have been told by the CBP that the cartels dominate the
crossing process and they are throughout the United States
engaging in trafficking, sex trafficking, indentured servitude
enforcement, and we have dropped our guard to that degree.
Mr., and I cannot say your name, is it Lechleitner? Is that
what it is called? What is your name, sir?
Mr. Lechleitner. Yes, sir. It is Lechleitner. That was
right.
Mr. Bishop. Thank you. Can you speak to that? I mean, given
what is happening, are we not subjecting all of these children
to the risk of criminality? As Andy Biggs said it, they are
making the U.S. Government the logistics arm of the cartels. I
mean, that seems horrible to me.
Mr. Lechleitner. Well, sir, thanks. That is a good
question. We are the investigative arm of Homeland Security as
it relates to the transnational crime. I cannot speak to
whether or not there may be crimes that are going to be
committed, but if HHS comes across those crimes or if other of
our partners do come across those crimes and report them to us,
then we are going to follow up on that. We follow up on all of
these very seriously. We are victim-centric as it relates to
this vulnerable population. I can say from 2020 to 2021, our
stats, probably partly due to COVID. You know, unfortunately,
it is complicating things, they train down a little bit. I can
say that but that is partly due to the COVID situation. But
quite frankly, sir, we do not know the unknown. We do not even
know what has been put before us, and I really cannot speak to
more than that.
Mr. Bishop. Well, I get that. But the problem is that we do
know. I think it is sort-of a bureaucratic shortsightedness if
you will forgive me to just say, well, we are doing great. We
are moving them through faster. Yes, we do not know who we are
sending them to. We know MS-13 is out there. We know there is
trafficking going on. We know that people are being sold or put
into indentured servitude right here in our country and the
cartels are active everywhere. Then we pat ourselves and say
that is humanity. That is blinkered beyond belief. It is a
classic example of heart over mind. It is not a rational
policy. There is not humanitarian in the slightest.
Madam Chairwoman, I yield back.
Chairwoman Barragan. I thank the Member for his questions.
The Chair now recognizes the gentleman, rather, the Chair
now recognizes for 5 minutes the gentleman from Missouri, Mr.
Cleaver.
Mr. Cleaver. Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate you very
much you holding this hearing. I think it is obviously timely.
My friend, Mr. Correa, Representative Correa, from California,
said that failed policies for 40 years. As somebody who was
born and raised in Texas, who has been to every little town
along the border, I can tell you that it has been longer than
40 years with those problems and mismanagement of immigration.
It does not stop with my upbringing and growing up in Texas.
With the Tennessee Southern Railway here in my district,
actually, going from Canada all the way through to Mexico,
right now they go to Laredo and then all of the Americans get
off the train and then the Mexicans get on the train and it
goes to finish its delivery.
So Henry Cuellar and I have been working a long time. I am
just prefacing my questions with this comment that we have
serious problems. I think there seems to be a great interest in
trying to make sure that we are successfully getting the other
side looking bad as opposed to trying to get the policy
straightened out. One of the things that I am concerned about,
and I have been to all the borders. I think it is a childish
question to raise to everybody. Have you been to the border?
Like if you have been to the border, somehow you should get,
you know, like some cookies or milk or, you know, some dog
biscuits. I am not sure. But I think the issue is the policy,
not visiting the border.
But let me go on. Mr. Huffman, you know, the trends in
migration are cyclical. I have seen it all of my life and
during the spring and then decreasing when the weather starts
getting too hot for travel, like around this time, and
certainly in July and August you are going to see a falling
off. So it has been at record levels in the past few months and
the questions about whether the immigrants will continue to
rise into the heat of summer. But what I want to know is what
is DHS and CBT doing to better position themselves to treat
these migrants more humanely than they have been treated
previously, while at the same time processing them in an
efficient manner?
Mr. Huffman. Thank you, sir. I appreciate the opportunity
to address that.
So we have learned a lot of things over the years as we
have trends over the years to see more unaccompanied children
that come into our custody. As we mentioned previously,
historically, our facilities were designed for a single adult
population because that was the historical trends over the
years that we dealt with. So we have had to adjust how we staff
our folks, the type of cells we have used and increased the
capacity. So now in these types of surges when we stand up
soft-sided facilities, they are specifically designed for
unaccompanied children and family units with how the pods are
laid out, air conditioning involved, opportunities to have the
medical examinations done on regular basis, the medical care we
provide to the children there, the ability to have observations
of any psychological issues and challenges they may be facing
as well. We have established a medical contract. We have got
like $481 million in medical contracts established of which we
spent $160 million already just providing these medical
services alone. So that alone in itself makes a big difference
in how they are treated and what they say. We have adjusted the
nutrition of the meals to address these things. We have a much
better oversight, both internally ourselves with our juvenile
coordinator office, plus oversight from the floors monitors as
well that helps make sure we are in compliance with those
guidelines. It helps make sure that we are at the best standard
of care that we can give for those guidelines. Basically, and I
will say this again, for us, the best thing we can do is move
them out of our facilities onto professional child care
specialists. Those efficiencies gained there allow us also to
put our officers and agents back on the line quicker to be
doing border and apportionment missions as opposed to being
confined in these facilities caring for children as well.
So there is a two-fold effort for that. It is not just it
helps the kids but it also makes us more operationally
efficient as well. It does not diminish our operational
capacity as much in doing so.
I see I am out of time so I will stop.
Mr. Cleaver. Am I out of time, Madam Chair?
Chairwoman Barragan. Yes.
Mr. Cleaver. Thank you for the time.
Chairwoman Barragan. Thank you. Mr. Cleaver yields back.
I have to say I agree with you, Mr. Huffman. When you talk
to the men and the women of the Border Patrol, they will tell
you day in and day out that they are in the law enforcement
business, not in the business of caring for children and so
they actually appreciate having the children processed out to
HHS.
With that, the Chair recognizes for 5 minutes the gentleman
from Georgia, Mr. Clyde.
Mr. Clyde. Thank you, Madam Chair and Ranking Member for
holding this important hearing.
Since Inauguration Day, President Biden, by Executive
Order, has acted to dismantle our Nation's immigration system,
spurring the crisis we are witnessing at the Southwestern
Border. According to figures released this past May, CBP has
encountered over 530,000 along the Southwest Border since
January 21. That is a 20-year high, while deportations are at
the lowest levels our country has seen in 20 years. CBP has
also arrested over 5,800 individuals with criminal convictions
and that is only the number of people that we have caught. In
fiscal year 2020 through April, there were 21,045 unaccompanied
alien children but this year, fiscal year 2021 through April,
same similar time frame, there have been 65,825 unaccompanied
alien children. That is a 3 times increase.
In rolling back successful Trump-era immigration policies,
it is no secret the administration has emboldened the cartels
to continue making billions of dollars trafficking narcotics
and people, many of which are children, across our border.
Truly, the Biden administration has made our Federal Government
the last link in the chain of the human smuggling of children
and this is shameful.
So Mr. Shahoulian, in your testimony you say the Biden
administration has employed a whole-of-Government approach to
solve issues related to the care, transfer, and placement of
unaccompanied children and it is strongly committed to
preventing the exploitation of this vulnerable population.
However, there are reports, and my colleague, Mr. Bishop,
mentioned one from Bloomberg that said that unaccompanied
children are being released before their sponsor's background
checks have been completed and that certain requirements for
background checks for caregivers have been waived at HHS
emergency influx sites. Can you speak to those reports, sir?
Mr. Shahoulian. So I do not know the content of those
reports. You know, I do think those are questions that are
better directed to HHS. I am happy to go and make sure that we
can provide answers after consultation with HHS but I am not
aware of the things that you are mentioning, sir.
Mr. Clyde. OK. Well, but you mentioned a whole-of-
Government approach; right? I mean, numerous ones of you have
mentioned a whole-of-Government approach. Ms. Dueholm, Mr.
Huffman were all talking a whole-of-Government approach. Should
that not mean that your agency is aware of and is helping to
coordinate these efforts? You know, should not the Department
of Homeland Security have visibility into the vetting of
children's sponsors? You care about that; right?
Mr. Shahoulian. Absolutely, sir. Absolutely, we care about
that. I will say that we have sent to HHS to help them
Federalize the work force in these efforts. We have sent our
most experienced asylum officers with deep experience in
interviewing individuals, vetting people, running background
checks, determining credibility and determining family
relationships. We have sent our best officers over to HHS to
help them improve that process. The stories mentioned, I am
unaware of those so I cannot really speak to them just yet, but
I am happy to get back to you on those.
Mr. Clyde. So you then do not have confidence that the
unaccompanied children being released, that the background
checks of their sponsors have been fully completed and vetted;
is that correct then?
Mr. Shahoulian. Sir, again, I am just going to say I do not
lack confidence in our Government's efforts or the work that
our Federal employees are doing, either at DHS or at HHS. What
I am saying is that of the news articles of which you speak I
have not read. I would like to confer back with HHS, and I am
happy to provide an answer to this question.
Mr. Clyde. OK. All right. I would appreciate you getting
back to us and letting us know whether or not we are cutting
corners on background checks for the sponsors of these people.
Thank you.
The current crisis and surge of illegal aliens at the
border have clearly enriched the transnational criminal
organizations through their human trafficking and smuggling
operations. So the next question I have is for Mr. Patrick
Lechleitner, I believe I said that correctly, from HSI.
Mr. Lechleitner. That is correct.
Mr. Clyde. By the way, I have been to the border twice and
I commend your efforts at the border. You guys really do a
fantastic job there, I think, from what I saw, and I really
appreciate it. These cartels need to be held to account.
So in your opinion, has the human smuggling of children
increased in the last 5 months?
Mr. Lechleitner. No, sir. We do not have appreciable data
from our records that the smuggling of children has been
increased, but we only know what is referred to us. So I would
defer to CBP and what they are seeing at the border. But as far
as encountered or referrals for investigations for us, we are
seeing I would say a slight, if any, increase. But I cannot
speak to what is going on at the border for interdictions.
Mr. Clyde. OK. Some estimates have placed human smuggling
and related activities at a billion dollars a year industry.
Would you agree with that?
Mr. Lechleitner. Yes, I would.
Mr. Clyde. OK. So have the cartels changed their operations
along the Southwestern Border to maximize their profits and
minimize their risk when it comes to human smuggling?
Chairwoman Barragan. I am going to let the witness respond
but his time has expired. Mr. Lechleitner, would you like to
respond?
Mr. Lechleitner. Yes, ma'am. The cartels have adapted and
they recognize that there is a profit motive and increased
profit to be seen from human smuggling. So when I am speaking
about the transnational criminal organizations, the cartels,
the traditional drug organizations, they have seen that there
is a profit motive there so they have been adapting and
utilizing some different techniques. Instead of just taxing
their way through, they are facilitating them in other ways and
also partnering with them. So we have seen some of that. But it
is not unusual for transnational criminal organizations to do
this. They care not for the commodity. They just care for the
profit and they will find whatever way it is to make that
profit and make more of it. They are bound by no law.
Chairwoman Barragan. Thank you, sir.
The gentleman's----
Mr. Clyde. OK. Thank you, and I yield back.
Chairwoman Barragan. Thank you. The gentleman yields back.
The Chair recognizes for 5 minutes the gentleman from
Texas, Mr. Green.
Mr. Green. Thank you every so much, Madam Chair. I greatly
appreciate the opportunity to be heard, and I greatly
appreciate you hosting this hearing.
Madam Chair, when Cubans were coming to this country by the
thousands, we did not turn them back if they could reach our
land, our shore. We adopted something called a ``wet foot, dry
foot'' policy. If you could get one foot on dry land and the
other foot remained in the water, we welcomed you. In fact, it
became an invitation for Cubans to come to this country and you
could stay because of the ``wet foot, dry foot'' policy.
Mr. Clyde. That was a terrible policy.
Mr. Green. I heard someone, dear brother, I hope you will
allow me to continue without interruption.
We were Good Samaritans at that time it seems. We did not
ask what will happen to us if we allow the Cubans. We were
asking what will happen to them if we do not allow them. This
is what a certain person said with reference to persons who
were moving along a certain dangerous route and this person was
injured and beset upon by thieves. What will happen to the
person who is hurting if we do not help?
But let me go further because this is what is really
important. In October 1980, we had something called the Mariel
boat lift. At that time, 125,000 Cubans came to this country
between October 15 and October 31. Here is what is really
interesting about the 125,000 refugees I might add. Many of
them were released from jails. Many of them were released from
mental health hospitals. Check the empirical evidence. What I
say is true. Released from jails and mental health hospitals.
We did not call them illegal aliens. We called them refugees. I
am not the guy who is going to see a baby thrown over a wall
and dropped and then walk over and pick the baby up and throw
it back over the wall. I am not. By the way, I do not think you
would either. Any of the persons on this committee, I do not
think you have that kind of heart.
But my point is this. If we can have ``wet foot, dry
foot,'' if we can find a way to accommodate others, if we could
allow the jails to be open and not call them illegal aliens,
can we not be as courteous and kind to these babies who are
coming and not call them illegal aliens? That is just from my
heart to everybody else's. If your heart rejects my thoughts, I
understand. But I see these as babies. As children. Trying to
get to a better life. Their parents do not send them because
they want their children to travel along the Jericho Road from
deep South American to the United States. They want their
children to have a better life.
So I would ask this of Mr. Shahoulian. I believe you are
the person who brought up the ``wet foot, dry foot'' policy
without saying it. Is what I said correct, sir?
Mr. Shahoulian. About the ``wet foot, dry foot'' policy,
sir?
Mr. Green. Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
Mr. Shahoulian. Yes, I will say, I mean, you are, yes,
there was a period of time, and we do have the Human Adjustment
Act that allows people who are paroled in to adjust status
after a year, but yes, for many, many years there was a policy
that basically allowed human nationals to stay if they reached
dry land. Yes.
Mr. Green. Yes. The policy was known as ``wet foot, dry
foot'' because if you had one foot on dry land and one in the
water you had the right to take that other foot out of the
water, walk on in, and the invitation was such that you could
become an American citizen. True?
Mr. Shahoulian. Sir, if you made it, on whether you had to
have one foot or not, I am not 100 percent sure of those facts,
but I will say that if you were paroled into the United States,
I mean, there were some people that were denied.
Mr. Green. Yes, the people who were denied were called
persons from Haiti. Haitians did not have the benefit of ``wet
foot, dry foot.''
Mr. Shahoulian. Well, there were some people, I mean, we
determined that individuals pose a public safety risk. I mean,
there were some people who were----
Mr. Green. Well, those who were released from the jails,
did they pose a public safety risk?
Mr. Shahoulian. Sir, there were, from the Cuban Mariel boat
lift there were about 3,000 individuals who were determined to
pose a significant public safety risk and were held excluded.
So not everyone was allowed to stay.
Mr. Green. But some of those who were from jails were. What
about the mental health hospitals?
Mr. Shahoulian. Sir, again, there were a number of, I mean,
I am saying there were a number of individuals that were held
at the border and determined to be excluded because of the
public safety issue. Not everyone stayed. I just want to be
clear about that. Of the Cuban----
Mr. Green. I do not agree with you. Not everyone stayed,
but of the 125,000, my dear sir, you and I both know that the
overwhelming majority of them stayed.
Mr. Shahoulian. The overwhelming majority----
Mr. Green [continuing]. Exceptions and say some did not
stay. Some of them with mental health issues stayed and some of
those who were out of jail stayed. True?
Chairwoman Barragan. Mr. Green, your time has expired.
Mr. Green. You have been more than generous, Madam Chair.
Thank you very much. Thank you.
Chairwoman Barragan. Sure. Thank you. The gentleman yields
back.
The Chair recognizes for 5 minutes the gentlewoman who has
been waiting very patiently, from New York, Ms. Clarke.
Ms. Clarke. I would like to thank you, Madam Chair, for
really bringing this very timely hearing to the American
people. I think we all need to take a deep breath and, you
know, search our souls as Congressman Green has said about our
collective humanity. When we can look at children and see them
as a threat to our National security and all they are seeking
and their parents are seeking are an opportunity to bring them
to safety, to connect them with loved ones in this Nation as
the conditions of their homes of origin continue to deteriorate
and we cannot look at ourselves and say we would sacrifice the
same way for our own children then clearly there is some soul
searching that needs to be done. Let me just put it that way.
But my first question is for Mr. Shahoulian. While most
unaccompanied children arriving at our border have family in
the United States, a number of these children arrive at the
border with close family members such as a grandparent, aunt,
or an uncle. Yet, DHS policy only recognizes a parent and child
relationship despite the fact that a grandparent or an uncle
would qualify as a sponsor for the child.
Is DHS considering a change in policy to help keep these
families together and expedite processing of children in your
custody?
Mr. Shahoulian. Thank you, Congressman, for that question.
So I will say that it is more than DHS policy; it is the
law. Right? Under the Trafficking and Victim Protection
Reauthorization Act of 2008, a child who is not accompanied by
a parent or a lawful, sorry, a legal guardian and for whom a
parent or legal guardian is not willing to show up to pick them
up, that individual, by law, is an unaccompanied child and by
law we are to transfer them to HHS. That said, we have been in
discussions with HHS to look at things that we can do to
prevent family separation as much as possible but by law we are
required to treat such children as unaccompanied minors and to
send them to HHS.
Ms. Clarke. So I understand that in limited circumstances
these family units have been released together when it was in
the best interest of the child. What actions can DHS take so
that more of these family units are released together while
ensuring children can still receive sufficient legal
protection?
Mr. Shahoulian. So again, we are in conversations to look
at what can be done. We have been in conversations with HHS
about co-locating in certain facilities. You know, we do, when
we have unaccompanied children who are encountered with other
family members we do try to ensure that there is contact with
those other family members. But again, by law, we are required,
we cannot by law release them. We must transfer them to HHS. It
is HHS's legal responsibility to find a suitable sponsor for
those children.
I think some of the stories you are mentioning are some
individuals who are provided parole through ports of entry and
there may be situations, but this by and large is not a
practice for individuals when encountered inside the United
States.
Ms. Clarke. Thank you.
Ms. Dueholm, in order to address the root causes of
migration, we must ensure that there are legal avenues for
individuals to come to the United States. Can you please expand
on the administration's efforts to increase these legal
options, including reinstating the Central American Minors
Program?
Ms. Dueholm. Thank you, Congresswoman. Certainly, I would
be happy to.
There are, I would say, 3 main areas that we are working to
expand legal options for residents of Central America to be
able to come to the United States legally. As you mentioned,
the Central American Minors program is one of those for
families who have parents legally in the United States to be
able to petition for their children to join them through the
Central American Minors Program as part of the U.S. Refugee
Assistance Program. When that program was closed in 2018, we
had about 5,000 applications and we have begun reprocessing
those. We look forward to hopefully expanding that in the near
future to be able to accommodate other folks with legal status
in the United States to be able to bring their children. We are
also expanding to seasonal visas and we are also working to
increase processing time for immigrant visas that are
backlogged within the realm of our COVID limited processes.
Ms. Clarke. So under the Central American Minors Program,
how many cases have been completed under this administration,
and how many cases were pending a decision when the Trump
administration terminated the program?
Ms. Dueholm. Sure. So under the current administration, we
have processed so far a little over 1,000. There had been, I
believe, 5,000 pending at the time.
Ms. Clarke. Very well. Very well.
When can we expect for the new administration to accept new
applications for the program?
Ms. Dueholm. I believe we will be seeing an announcement
imminently, Congresswoman.
Ms. Clarke. Very well. Let me thank you all for your expert
witnessing here today, your testimony. With that, Madam Chair,
I yield back.
Chairwoman Barragan. Thank you. Thank you, Madam
Representative.
I want to thank the witnesses for their valuable testimony
and the Members for their questions. The Members of the
subcommittee may have additional questions for the witnesses
and we ask that you respond expeditiously in writing. The
committee record shall be kept for 10 days.
I apologize. I wanted to give more ending remarks but I
have been called for a vote in my mark-up. I want to thank our
Members and everybody for participating. Without objection, the
subcommittee stands adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 3:36 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]