[House Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
OVERSIGHT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES' OFFICE OF
REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON IMMIGRATION INTEGRITY,
SECURITY, AND ENFORCEMENT
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2024
__________
Serial No. 118-103
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via: http://judiciary.house.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
57-463 WASHINGTON : 2025
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COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
JIM JORDAN, Ohio, Chair
DARRELL ISSA, California JERROLD NADLER, New York, Ranking
ANDY BIGGS, Arizona Member
TOM McCLINTOCK, California ZOE LOFGREN, California
TOM TIFFANY, Wisconsin STEVE COHEN, Tennessee
THOMAS MASSIE, Kentucky HENRY C. ``HANK'' JOHNSON, Jr.,
CHIP ROY, Texas Georgia
DAN BISHOP, North Carolina ERIC SWALWELL, California
VICTORIA SPARTZ, Indiana TED LIEU, California
SCOTT FITZGERALD, Wisconsin PRAMILA JAYAPAL, Washington
CLIFF BENTZ, Oregon J. LUIS CORREA, California
BEN CLINE, Virginia MARY GAY SCANLON, Pennsylvania
KELLY ARMSTRONG, North Dakota JOE NEGUSE, Colorado
LANCE GOODEN, Texas LUCY McBATH, Georgia
JEFF VAN DREW, New Jersey MADELEINE DEAN, Pennsylvania
TROY NEHLS, Texas VERONICA ESCOBAR, Texas
BARRY MOORE, Alabama DEBORAH ROSS, North Carolina
KEVIN KILEY, California CORI BUSH, Missouri
HARRIET HAGEMAN, Wyoming GLENN IVEY, Maryland
NATHANIEL MORAN, Texas BECCA BALINT, Vermont
LAUREL LEE, Florida JESUS G. ``CHUY'' GARCIA, Illinois
WESLEY HUNT, Texas ERICA LEE CARTER, Texas
RUSSELL FRY, South Carolina
MICHAEL RULLI, Ohio
Vacancy
------
SUBCOMMITTEE ON IMMIGRATION INTEGRITY, SECURITY,
AND ENFORCEMENT
TOM McCLINTOCK, California, Chair
ANDY BIGGS, Arizona PRAMILA JAYAPAL, Washington,
TOM TIFFANY, Wisconsin Ranking Member
CHIP ROY, Texas ZOE LOFGREN, California
VICTORIA SPARTZ, Indiana J. LUIS CORREA, California
JEFF VAN DREW, New Jersey VERONICA ESCOBAR, Texas
TROY NEHLS, Texas DEBORAH ROSS, North Carolina
BARRY MOORE, Alabama ERIC SWALWELL, California
WESLEY HUNT, Texas JESUS G. ``CHUY'' GARCIA, Illinois
MICHAEL RULLI, Ohio Vacancy
CHRISTOPHER HIXON, Majority Staff Director
AARON HILLER, Minority Staff Director & Chief of Staff
C O N T E N T S
----------
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Page
OPENING STATEMENTS
The Honorable Tom McClintock, Chair of the Subcommittee on
Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement from the State
of California.................................................. 1
The Honorable Pramila Jayapal, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee
on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement from the
State of Washington............................................ 3
The Honorable Jim Jordan, Chair of the Committee on the Judiciary
from the State of Ohio......................................... 5
The Honorable Jerrold Nadler, Ranking Member of the Committee on
the Judiciary from the State of New York....................... 5
WITNESS
Secretary Xavier Becerra, U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services
Oral Testimony................................................. 7
Prepared Testimony............................................. 10
LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC. SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING
All materials submitted for the record by the Subcommittee on
Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement are listed
below.......................................................... 46
Materials submitted by the Honorable Andy Biggs, a Member of the
Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and
Enforcement from the State of Arizona, for the record
A memo from the Administration for Children & Families, Office
of Refugee Resettlement, Field Guidance #10, Expedite
Release for Eligible Category 1 Cases, Mar. 22, 2021
A memo from the Administration for Children & Families, Office
of Refugee Resettlement, Field Guidance #11, Temporary
Waivers of Background Check Requirement for Category 2
Adult Household Members and Adult Caregivers, Mar. 31, 2021
A report entitled, ``The Biden-Harris Administration's Failure
to Protect Unaccompanied Children from Abuse and
Exploitation,'' Nov. 2024, Minority Staff Report, U.S.
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pension
A memo from the Office of Refugee Resettlement's Division of
Unaccompanied Childrens' Operations (ORR/DUCO) Federal
Field Specialist Supervisors, concerns regarding the
erosion of child-welfae practices within the UC Program,
Jul. 23, 2021
A document from the Office of Refugee Resettlement, Nov. 18,
2024, 45 CFR 410.1202
A Release Request form concerning multiple unaccompanied
children
Portions of the consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, Public Law
118-47, Fiscal Year 2024, Office of Refugee Resettlement, Mar.
23, 2024, submitted by the Honorable Tom McClintock, Chair of
the Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and
Enforcement from the State of California, for the record
APPENDIX
A statement from the Church World Service (CWS), submitted by the
Honorable Pramila Jayapal, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee
on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement from the
State of Washington, for the record
QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES FOR THE RECORD
Question to the Hon. Xavier Becerra, Secretary, U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, submitted the Honorable Jeff Van
Drew, a Member of the Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity,
Security, and Enforcement from the State of New Jersey, for the
record
Response to questions from the Hon. Xavier Becerra, Secretary,
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, for the record
OVERSIGHT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES' OFFICE OF REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT
----------
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
House of Representatives
Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security,
and Enforcement
Committee on the Judiciary
Washington, DC
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2 p.m., in
Room 2141, Rayburn House Office Building, the Hon. Tom
McClintock [Chair of the Subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives McClintock, Jordan, Biggs,
Tiffany, Roy, Van Drew, Moore, Hunt, Rulli, Jayapal, Nadler,
Correa, Ross, and Garcia.
Mr. McClintock. The Subcommittee will come to order.
Without objection, the Chair is authorized to declare a
recess at any time.
Today, the Subcommittee meets to conduct oversight into the
activities of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, administered
by the Department of Health and Human Services.
We welcome HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra to answer questions
that we have arising from his administration of this office.
I think we'd all agree that if a child shows up lost and
alone on your doorstep, you've got a moral obligation to find
out where that child lives and return them safely home. The
last thing any decent person would do is to take that child to
a stranger's house and leave them there. Yet, it appears this
is exactly what this administration has been doing for the last
four years.
In just four years, this administration has deliberately
allowed 7.6 million illegal aliens to enter the United States,
releasing more than 5.7 million illegal aliens into the
country, while more than 1.9 million known gotaways evaded
apprehension, an illegal population larger than the State of
Arizona, our 14th-largest State.
Among them there have been an estimated 530,000
unaccompanied alien minors. That's about the entire population
of the State of Wyoming.
Instead of protecting these children until they could be
returned safely home or until their rightful families could be
located, HHS deliberately circumvented protocols designed to
protect these children and abandoned them to poorly vetted
sponsors in the United States.
The House Judiciary Committee estimates that roughly
150,000 of these children have now disappeared. They've simply
vanished into a dark underworld of sex and drug trafficking,
forced labor, gang activity, and crime.
Of course, many are not helpless children but, rather,
teenagers or adults posing as teenagers, who themselves present
a mortal threat to the public.
Take the case of Walter Javier Martinez. He was transferred
to the Office of Refugee Resettlement as an accompanied alien
child despite a previous arrest in El Salvador for illicit
association with MS-13. One call to Salvadorian authorities
would have confirmed this. Maryland authorities later noted
that he had gang tattoos. Instead, Martinez was released into
our country, no questions asked. On July 27, 2022, he brutally
attacked and killed Kayla Hamilton, who was sound asleep in her
own bed.
While the prime suspect in her murder, Martinez was placed
in a foster home with other children and enrolled in a local
high school. He has admitted to four murders, two rapes, and
additional other crimes.
Juan Carlos Garcia-Rodriguez from Guatemala, also fast-
tracked into our country by this administration as an
unaccompanied alien child and released to an unrelated sponsor
who was himself an illegal alien. On August 12, 2023, he
murdered 11-year-old Maria Gonzalez in her own home, wrapped
her body in a trash bag, and stashed it under her bed for her
father to find.
We don't know how many more such monsters are among the
150,000 unaccompanied alien minors that HHS has lost track of,
or how many helpless children have been abducted and exploited,
but we are slowly finding out, tragedy by preventable tragedy.
What we know is that, in 2021, Mr. Becerra removed the
requirement that ORR provide biographic and biometric data for
all adult members of a sponsor's household to check for their
criminal history. What could possibly go wrong?
Records produced by a whistleblower showed that, in 2021,
HHS disregarded repeated warnings by a case manager about the
MS-13 affiliation of one sponsor attempting to take custody of
two unaccompanied alien children.
According to The New York Times, Secretary Becerra berated
employees for not processing minors fast enough, saying, quote,
If Henry Ford had seen this in his plant, he would've never
become famous and rich. This is not the way you do an assembly
line.
In July 2021, concerned employees drafted a memo warning
that, quote, ``labor trafficking was increasing,'' and
complaining that the agency had become, quote, ``one that
rewards individuals for making quick releases and not one that
rewards individuals for preventing unsafe releases.''
According to press reports, Mr. Becerra told then-ORR-
Director Cindy Huang that, and I quote, ``if she could not
increase the number of discharges, he would find someone who
could.'' Huang resigned a month later.
Now, the American people have already passed judgment on
these policies in the recent election. Those responsible have
much to answer to the victims of their policies and to history.
We welcome the Secretary here today to account for his actions.
With that, I yield to the Ranking Member for her opening
statement.
Ms. Jayapal. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
At the outset, I just want to note that this is the first
Immigration Subcommittee meeting without Representative Sheila
Jackson Lee.
She was not only a long-term Member of this Subcommittee,
but she served as its Ranking Member from the 105th through the
109th Congress. When it came to advocating for those in need,
there was simply no better champion than Representative Jackson
Lee.
Back in 2020, I remember, when reports emerged of women
being subjected to forced medical procedures in immigration
detention that left some women unable to bear children, my
office found a survivor who was Representative Jackson Lee's
constituent who was about to be deported, and I reached out to
the Representative, who jumped right on it. Not only did she
stop her deportation once she actually stopped it twice.
She was a relentless advocate, and her voice on this
Subcommittee will be missed.
Today's hearing, I want to start by commending Secretary
Becerra for coming before the Subcommittee today. Our staff
went back and looked, and we believe that this might be the
first time that the Health and Human Services Secretary has
ever come before the Immigration Subcommittee. It shows once
again how accommodating the Biden Administration has been when
it comes to oversight.
Unfortunately, this is just another show hearing by the
majority. With just six weeks left in the 118th Congress, this
is only the second immigration-related hearing in the Judiciary
Committee to which our colleagues in the majority have actually
invited a government witness.
Today's hearing will be one final attempt by the Majority
to use all their same false talking points--that the Biden
Administration purposefully created a border crisis and
``lost,'' in quotes, ``lost'' tens of thousands of children,
all of which we know is wrong by the facts.
I'm sure the Secretary will address this as well, but let's
just be clear: These children are not lost.
The HHS's legal authority ceases once an unaccompanied
child is united with a sponsor--usually a parent or a close
relative. While HHS conducts three followup calls to ensure
that everything is going well between a sponsor and a child,
the agency has no ability to force their way into the home. If
no one answers these three calls, then HHS is no longer in
contact with the child. Now, that does not mean that the child
is, quote, ``lost.''
Further, this is not a new policy. Previous administrations
have dealt with similar reports of missing children who have
been released from HHS custody. For example, in 2018, there was
a widespread report that the Trump Administration, quote,
``lost contact'' with approximately 1,500 unaccompanied
children during just a three-month period. Those children were
also not lost; they were following the same procedures that
this administration has followed.
Soon, Republicans will not have anyone to blame. In a few
short weeks, they will have full control of the government.
Republicans will actually have to govern and take
responsibility for what happens in the country.
Unfortunately, this Majority has shown again and again that
they're not serious about finding solutions to our complex
immigration system. While we will hear Republicans ranting
today about children being trafficked into the country, the
only legislation that this Majority has passed on this issue
would actually gut protections for unaccompanied children.
That cruel, inhumane, and unworkable bill, H.R. 2, would
allow unaccompanied children to languish in Border Patrol
facilities for up to a month. It would force children to appear
within two weeks before an immigration judge, with no access to
an attorney. It would send children back to their home
countries, where they are at high risk for exploitation and
abuse.
Their bill, by the way, would also decimate the bipartisan
Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, or TVPRA,
which Congress passed on a sweeping, bipartisan basis and
established the U.S. Government's central framework for keeping
unaccompanied children out of the hands of traffickers.
Democrats want to protect children and not make it more
difficult for them to stay safe. We have more work to do, real
serious work to do, to make that happen.
I was devastated last year reading articles about young
children who were taken advantage of by unscrupulous sponsors
and employers and the potential warning signs that were missed.
This increase in child labor is a trend that has been steadily
on the rise, especially since 2018. It's completely
unacceptable, and I've been shocked to see Republican State
legislatures respond by passing bills that actually weaken the
protections on child labor.
In response, HHS finalized regulations aimed at protecting
unaccompanied children that are placed in HHS's care. The rule
improves HHS's placement and release processes for
unaccompanied children, it strengthens kids' privacy and legal
rights, and it sets minimum standards for emergency and influx
facilities designed to hold children when there is insufficient
space in permanent facilities.
The Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services have
also put in place a variety of new efforts to combat
exploitative child labor, including a new interagency task
force to improve coordination and the information-sharing among
agencies.
At the same time, we know that the Office of Refugee
Resettlement and the administration overall need to do more to
ensure the safety of kids. To do that, we in Congress have to
provide sufficient funding to these agencies for that critical
work.
That includes funding to increase post-release services for
children after they're placed with a sponsor, as well as
appointment of counsel for all unaccompanied children to ensure
that they understand the extremely complex immigration system.
Improvements in both of these areas would help protect children
from mistreatment, exploitation, and trafficking. That funding,
unfortunately, is something that the Republican Majority has
been unwilling to do.
The Department of Labor also does need to be more
aggressive in going after unscrupulous employers to the fullest
extent of the law. Many of these employers were using E-Verify,
which just goes to show how ineffective that system is. They
should be held accountable for hiring kids and subjecting them
and all other workers to harsh conditions.
I look forward to hearing from the Secretary today. The
protection of children from exploitation, abuse, and
trafficking should be a bipartisan issue, and I hope my
colleagues approach it in that way.
I thank you for your service, Mr. Secretary.
I yield back.
Mr. McClintock. I'm now pleased to recognize the Chair of
the House Judiciary Committee, Congressman Jordan.
Chair Jordan. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
So, let me get this straight. So, a lost child is not
actually lost; we just can't find them--150,000 of them. That's
the issue.
That's why we're glad the Secretary is here today to
finally--finally--answer some of our questions. I do appreciate
the Secretary showing up. I had a chance to serve with the
Secretary when he was in Congress.
I appreciate the Ranking Member; I just disagree with what
she had to say. We've worked on other issues together, but you
can't say, ``Oh, they're not really lost; we just can't contact
them.'' That's the problem--150,000 of them.
I appreciate the Chair's work and this Committee's work.
The Chair was the primary driver of H.R. 2 that we passed a
year and a half ago that would've solved so many problems with
our border and with our immigration system. So, I appreciate
the work that he's done, and I appreciate this hearing.
With that, I yield back.
Mr. McClintock. Thank you.
I'm next pleased to recognize the Ranking Member of the
House Judiciary Committee, Mr. Nadler, for an opening
statement.
Mr. Nadler. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Chair, today, the Immigration Subcommittee is
conducting an oversight hearing on the Department of Health and
Human Services. I'm all for the Committee exercising its robust
oversight authority, and I certainly hope the Committee plans
to subject the incoming administration to the same degree of
oversight it has utilized for the outgoing one.
What an administration it is shaping up to be: A Fox News
host who advocated for pardoning war criminals and thinks women
should not serve in combat as the Secretary of Defense; a pro-
Putin propagandist for Director of National Intelligence; a
former Congressman whose only experience with prosecution is
his own alleged criminal entanglements to serve as Attorney
General; and most applicable to today's hearing, an
antivaccine, conspiracy-peddling extremist with a penchant for
eating bears for Secretary of Health and Human Services.
These may be some of the most unqualified candidates for
Cabinet posts in living memory. It turns out, when you burn
through the serious people in your first administration, there
are slim pickings for the second one.
We in Congress have an important job as a co-equal branch
of the government. We have a mandate to conduct oversight over
the executive branch, and the Senate is constitutionally
required to evaluate and, if appropriate, to confirm or reject
Presidential appointees. We were elected by our constituents to
perform these responsibilities no matter which party sits in
the White House.
The responsibilities we have are serious, but this Majority
is deeply unserious. This hearing is sure to exemplify this
fundamental lack of seriousness.
I am sure that we will hear today a great deal about the
children the Biden Administration allegedly lost, although this
is a thoroughly misleading claim based on half-truths and
without necessary context, as the Ranking Member of the
Subcommittee pointed out.
To be clear, there are systemic problems at the Office of
Refugee Resettlement that have endured across administrations
of both parties, and any child who is harmed as a result is one
child too many.
While the Biden Administration has taken important steps to
address these concerns, the policies the majority has pushed
throughout this Congress, coupled with those that President-
elect Trump plans to put in place, would gravely harm immigrant
children and make the situation far worse.
For example, the Majority's marquee immigration legislation
would gut protections for unaccompanied children, increasing
the exploitation of children, and send them back to the
traffickers and abusers Republicans claim to abhor.
Republican-led States like Florida, Iowa, and Arkansas have
all made it easier for children to work longer hours and more
dangerous jobs, paving the way for exploitative work conditions
for all children.
President-elect Trump has promised to bring back some of
his cruelest and most harmful policies, including family
detention and ``Remain in Mexico.'' He's not even ruled out
bringing back family separation. Does anyone truly believe that
these are pro-child policies?
The Republican Majority has also failed to provide the
Departments of Health and Human Services and Labor with the
resources and authority they need to properly protect these
children and to go after exploitative employers. Is there any
reason to believe that they will do so under the next
administration?
Do you really believe that the person nominated to be the
next HHS Secretary, a man whose theories and views contributed
to the preventable measles deaths of dozens of children in
Samoa, would adequately protect children in this country?
Do you believe a government beholden to Elon Musk and his
promise to cut trillions of dollars from the Federal budget are
going to adequately fund programs designed to ensure children
are properly cared for?
When we inevitably get reports of children being torn apart
from their parents or shipped off to countries they cannot
remember or have never lived in, of inhumane conditions in the
tent-city detention centers the incoming administration plans
to set up, or of deaths in custody, are we going to see the
Majority exercise its oversight authority and hold the Trump
Administration to account? I won't be holding my breath.
Secretary Becerra, it is good to see you. I appreciate you
being here today and all the good work that HHS has done under
your leadership. I look forward to your testimony, but if you
came in here hopes of a thoughtful, meaningful debate on
policy, I'm afraid you'll be sorely disappointed.
Thank you, and I yield back.
Mr. McClintock. Thank you.
Well, now that we've come to bipartisan agreement on these
vital issues, it's time to introduce today's witness.
Mr. Xavier Becerra is the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, a position he's been holding since March 2021.
Secretary Becerra previously served as the Attorney General of
California and was a Member of the House of Representatives
between 1993-2017.
We welcome him and thank him for appearing here today.
I will begin by swearing you in, Mr. Secretary. Would you
please rise, and raise your right hand?
Do you swear or affirm, under penalty of perjury, that the
testimony you are about to give is true and correct to the best
of your knowledge, information, and belief, so help you God?
Secretary Becerra. I do.
Mr. McClintock. Thank you.
Let the record reflect the witness has answered in the
affirmative.
Please know your written testimony will be entered in the
record in its entirety, and, accordingly, we'd ask that you
will summarize it.
So, Mr. Secretary, you may begin.
STATEMENT OF SECRETARY XAVIER BECERRA
Secretary Becerra. Mr. Chair, the Ranking Member, and the
Members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me to discuss
the work of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services'
Unaccompanied Children Bureau within the Office of Refugee
Resettlement.
Before I begin my comments, I do want to add my word to
those of the Ranking Member, who mentioned our former colleague
Sheila Jackson Lee, a dear friend, someone I had a chance to
serve with for many, many years, and a true champion of people
who really just believed in their government and in their
Constitution. So, we miss her, but it's good to know that we
always think of her.
Mr. Chair, let me begin by clarifying some confusion or
misunderstanding over ORR's work.
First, ORR is not an immigration or law enforcement agency.
It does not possess such powers and does not render decisions
in those areas.
Second, pursuant to congressional mandate, ORR provides
temporary custody and care, including support services for
unaccompanied children.
ORR fulfills its Congressional mandate by funding nearly
300 programs in 29 States, including shelter programs,
transitional foster care, long-term foster care, group homes,
heightened-supervision facilities, and residential treatment
centers.
At these facilities, our contractors deliver child-focused
services in accordance with child welfare best practices. That
includes access to healthcare, education, recreation,
counseling, and legal services.
Third, HHS's custodial responsibility and oversight for
unaccompanied children through ORR ends once we place the child
with an appropriately vetted sponsor.
As important as this work is, we know and child welfare
experts will tell you that the best place for a child is with a
family in a home in a community, not in a congregate care
facility. That's why we work so hard to find and vet potential
sponsors for an unaccompanied child.
In fact, an overwhelming number of children released to a
sponsor by ORR were placed with a parent, legal guardian, or
close family member. As any parent will tell you, to really
raise a child, you have to be all-in.
The children we encounter at ORR enter the country without
any parent or adult guardian. The challenge for these
unaccompanied children is immense. We have worked tirelessly
over the past 46 months to build a sustainable network of
trained and licensed caregivers who can meet this challenge.
Our network of small-size caregivers means no child stays
in a barracks-style housing. We work to keep the tender-age
children separate from older adolescents. We strive to house
siblings in the same facility together. We expand services so
children can receive information and guidance from legal
advocates.
We expanded care management and sponsor placement
operations to seven days a week. We established the UC Ombuds
Office so that staff and stakeholders may raise concerns to an
independent and impartial body. We established the ORR
Integrity and Accountability Team to further identify and
prevent attempted fraud.
We executed a memorandum of agreement with the Office of
Trafficking in Persons, with the National Center for Missing
and Exploited Children, and with the Department of Labor to
help protect the children after they leave our care and
custody. We extended our access to post-release services to
every child we place with a sponsor.
Like parenting, the work of ORR and our network of
caregivers is nonstop, and we are constantly striving to
improve. We set clear rules for standards of care, and we have
zero tolerance for behavior by care personnel that threatens
the safety and well-being of children. All incidents of
inappropriate behavior must be reported to ORR, and we take
action, as well as report and coordinate with appropriate
authorities.
These are the trademarks of an enterprise that understands
its weighty responsibility toward the very vulnerable
populations we serve.
I want to publicly express my gratitude to the ORR team for
never letting up against the many challenges they face daily in
prioritizing the safety and well-being of the unaccompanied
children who come into our care. These dedicated professionals
may not be the parents of these kids, but they are and all of
us at HHS are all-in.
Mr. Chair, that concludes my testimony. I look forward to
your questions.
[The prepared statement of Secretary Becerra follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. McClintock. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
We'll now proceed under the five-minute rule with
questions.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona, Mr. Biggs,
for five minutes.
Mr. Biggs. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Secretary Becerra, do your policies at ORR place priority
on speedy placement of the unaccompanied child with sponsors or
taking care of their safety and protection once they've been
placed?
Secretary Becerra. Thank you, Congressman, for the
question.
The safety and well-being of children in our custody is our
number-one priority.
Mr. Biggs. Well, so that's important to know, because your
record indicates that biometrics for the sponsors were eased up
there.
The use of DNA--I'm going to read from your directive on
March 22, 2021.
Use of DNA is only used for the purpose of establishing
biological relationships for purposes of sponsorship and is not
submitted to law enforcement personnel or run against law
enforcement databases.
Catch that last part? Not submitted to law enforcement
personnel and not run against law enforcement databases.
Get this part: Submission of DNA by the parent is
voluntary.
How in the world does that protect the child, the
unaccompanied minor, when actually what you're doing, you're
saying, the parent, whether you submit to DNA, that's
voluntary? So, you're going to be taking whoever it is, the
sponsor, their word. So, how does that protect the child?
Secretary Becerra. Congressman, thank you for the question.
We use a number of tools to make sure we can identify the
child, and certainly do the background checks on anyone who
wishes to be a sponsor.
We always hope that we can get the most direct information
about the care--excuse me--the people who are wishing to
sponsor these children. We use, as you've mentioned, a number
of techniques, including fingerprinting and DNA on occasion
when it helps us to identify--
Mr. Biggs. On occasion. On occasion.
If you don't have the DNA and you don't have the
fingerprints, how in the world are you checking the databases
for the background? How are you vetting them?
Secretary Becerra. We have a number of techniques that we
use to make sure we're--
Mr. Biggs. What are they?
Secretary Becerra. They can include any number of things,
such as: Sometimes it will include fingerprints. It will
include a direct interview with the individual. It will be a
check on citizenship documents.
Mr. Biggs. How often do you use fingerprinting or DNA?
Secretary Becerra. Again, it depends on the type of
information we have to identify the individuals who are wishing
to sponsor.
Mr. Biggs. So, let's read this one here. This is from a
directive 10 days later, March 31, 2021:
Effective immediately, background check requirements for adult
household members and alternate adult caregivers identified in
a sponsor care plan are not required as a condition of release
under any Category 2.
So, it's not required all the time, right? It's just--it's
voluntary, for DNA for parents.
So, how can you say that your number-one priority is the
safety of these unaccompanied children when you're placing them
in sponsors' homes that on occasion have criminal gang
affiliations because there's been no proper background check?
How can you say that?
Secretary Becerra. Congressman, if you follow child welfare
best practices, you do an extensive background check. We follow
child welfare best practices, so we do those extensive
background checks, which could include any number of things.
Mr. Biggs. So, how did it happen--I've got this report that
I'd like to submit to the record. This is Senator Grassley's
report.
Mr. McClintock. Without objection.
Mr. Biggs. How did we see children ending up in the homes
of MS-13 gang members as the sponsor? How'd that happen?
Secretary Becerra. Congressman, I don't have that
information before me that you're referencing, but what I can
tell you is that no sponsor would be allowed to take a child if
we have information that shows that they are engaged in
criminal activity.
Mr. Biggs. If you don't do the vetting right, you don't
know if they're engaged in criminal activity. That's how you
end up with an MS-13 gang member as the sponsor. That's how you
end up with pedophiles getting 20 children in the same home.
That's how you end up there. Because the vetting's been crappy.
That's just the bottom line.
So, if we go on and move to this other aspect, where you
say the emphasis is on safety and not speed, I'm going to read
to you now the memo of concern filed in July 2021. The reason
that I read this, even though it's dated somewhat, it seems to
be still the conditions. This is from page 2:
Since the beginning of this current influx, ORR field staff
have seen the transformation of the Division of Unaccompanied
Children's Operations within ORR from a child-welfare-focused
model to one that emphasizes what seems to be a ``release to
someone as soon as possible.'' model.
So, I know you've lost contact with these children, and now
we're told that when you lose contact with these children, it's
not being lost. It is being lost.
I ask for all these to be included into the record, Mr.
Chair, and yield back.
Mr. McClintock. Without objection.
Mr. McClintock. The gentleman's time has expired. Ms.
Jayapal, for five minutes.
Ms. Jayapal. Thank you. Mr. Secretary, again, thanks for
coming here.
Earlier this year, I knew HHS finalized regulations
governing the placement, care, and services provided to
unaccompanied children in HHS custody. My understanding is that
these regulations improve the Department's placement and
release processes for unaccompanied children, strengthen
children's privacy and legal rights, and set minimum standards
for emergency and influx facilities designed to hold children
when there is insufficient space.
The regulations also codify the current requirement that an
at-home study be conducted before releasing a child to a
nonrelative sponsor who is attempting to sponsor multiple
children, who previously sponsored a child, or if the
nonrelative child they want to sponsor is under 12 years old.
A lot of this seems responsive to the concerns that were
raised last year following a report from The New York Times
that children were working unlawfully in factories across the
Midwest and that some sponsors had taken in multiple
unaccompanied children.
Can you just confirm to Mr. Biggs's question, you do a full
background check on everybody; is that correct?
Secretary Becerra. Yes, we do.
Ms. Jayapal. So, you run them through the databases. If
they have a criminal history, that's going to come up in the
full background check. Is that right?
Secretary Becerra. That's correct.
Ms. Jayapal. So, can you discuss the importance of the
regulations that you passed to protecting unaccompanied
children in HHS's custody?
Second, can you discuss why the home study requirement for
children under 12 who are not placed with a close relative is
so important to protecting kids from trafficking?
Secretary Becerra. Congresswoman, the rule that you've
mentioned that we recently, actually, got through and have now
put in place was important, because it puts a clear signal on
what we do and how we do it so that all of our contractors who
care for these kids understand the rules.
So, they must make sure that if they're going to vet a
particular sponsor, they go through the full level of extensive
checking on background, whether it's a sexual offender
registry, whether it's making sure that, if they need it, they
use fingerprints.
We want to make sure there's no ambiguity about what their
responsibility is to make sure that they are putting, first and
foremost, the safety of that child first before they place that
child with a sponsor.
That Foundational Rule has now put in place what we've
learned over time, because, if you'll recall, we inherited a
dismantled, a broken system--
Ms. Jayapal. Yep.
Secretary Becerra. --for childcare of these unaccompanied
kids, and we had to essentially rebuild the process. Along the
way, we've learned a great deal about how to do it and how to
do it better and how to strengthen it, and this Foundational
Rule really incorporates that.
Ms. Jayapal. Yes. Thank you.
So, I just want to be clear, it's not like you're just
placing kids with people who have criminal records, people who
are known gang members. You're going through a full, extensive
background check before you place any child.
I understand that many of the factories unlawfully
employing children used E-Verify. It's clear that many of our
immigration laws and tools, including E-Verify, are not
sufficient to meet the demands of our modern world. The
immigration system hasn't been meaningfully reformed in over 30
years.
You and I have both worked on that issue for a long time.
What reforms to the immigration system would you recommend
helping HHS protect unaccompanied children entrusted to your
care?
Secretary Becerra. Well, Congresswoman, one of the things
that we've worked hard to do is to expand our post-release
services. Because, as you mentioned in your opening remarks,
once we have placed a child in the care of a sponsor, a vetted
sponsor, we no longer have responsibility, we no longer have
jurisdiction over those children. We should be able to have
that post-release service made something we can do all the
time.
Right now, we offer it to the kids; they're not required to
take it. We're also depending on the resources to actually
offer those services, so if we don't have the resources, we
can't offer those post-release services. That would help.
Certainly, if there's an employer who is exploiting a child
and employing them against the law, I would hope that this
Committee would do the same type of hearings, same type of
investigation of the employers. We follow the law at HHS;
employers should too.
Ms. Jayapal. Yes. Really important point. I don't think
we've dragged any employers up to the table to talk to them
about why they are abusing these labor laws and employing child
labor.
I want to discuss the appointed counsel, because I think
this is really important. It's outrageous to me that kids,
including toddlers, are forced to literally show up in court
facing a prosecutor and they've got no representation. I think
a lot of Americans just may not know that.
As you know, HHS is required to arrange for legal
representation for unaccompanied children to the greatest
extent practicable. I know that you share my empathy with these
kids, but so much of this is, again, contingent on funding that
is given to the agency.
So, given how complicated the immigration system is, just
can you briefly discuss--my time is out, but--the importance of
providing counsel to unaccompanied children?
Secretary Becerra. Giving kids the right information is
crucial.
Mr. Chair, I recognize my time has expired, so I'll be
brief and say: We do everything we can to make sure they
understand what their obligations are. We don't actually hire
them attorneys, but we try to give them some information,
provide the advocacy. Again, it's all contingent on having the
resources to go to that extent of services.
Ms. Jayapal. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. I yield back.
Mr. McClintock. Mr. Biggs, for a unanimous consent request.
Mr. Biggs. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I think the rule that the witness might have referred to is
Title 45--I'd like to submit it for the record--where it makes
public records checks and FBI national crime checks optional
for the sponsors and adults living--
Mr. McClintock. Without objection.
Mr. McClintock. Mr. Tiffany is recognized for five minutes.
Mr. Tiffany. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The Ranking Member ripped on the Trump appointees in his
opening remarks, which we largely expected, but I'd just ask
the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services,
do you have a medical degree?
Secretary Becerra. I do not.
Mr. Tiffany. You do not have a medical degree.
Are you familiar with the Florida grand jury presentment
that they did about a year and a half ago, in 2023, in regard
to unaccompanied alien children?
Secretary Becerra. I am somewhat familiar with it. I was
briefed on it on many occasions.
Mr. Tiffany. Are you familiar in that report, it revealed
that children were pimped out by their aunt, which turns out
the aunt wasn't even related to the child, the so-called aunt.
Are you familiar with that story that was in there?
Secretary Becerra. There are a number of incidents that are
reported in that Florida report. Some of them I can probably
recall better than others. Some of them I would challenge and
dispute. That one I don't remember.
Mr. Tiffany. Do you remember the teenage girl that was in a
house with unknown men with no private bedroom for her?
Secretary Becerra. Yes, I--
Mr. Tiffany. Are you familiar with the sponsors that
utilized a strip club in Jacksonville as an address for where a
child should be settled?
Secretary Becerra. Congressman, as I said, I don't have the
information on that Florida grand jury report in front of me. I
certainly can go back and take a look at it and try to get back
to you.
Mr. Tiffany. Are you familiar that the case managers only
performing home studies--the case managers are only doing case
studies--or home studies in 4.5 percent of placements in
Florida? Only 4.5 percent. In fact, discretionary home studies
were one percent.
Is that all you folks are checking up on these kids that
are so vulnerable?
Secretary Becerra. Congressman, thank you for the question.
Congress, in passing the laws that apply to the
unaccompanied children, said that home studies would be
reserved for those children who came to us with circumstances
that show trauma or the need for additional services. So, by
law, by statute passed by you and Congress--those of you in
Congress in the past, we have the obligation to conduct these
home studies only in those particular cases.
We provide home study--
Mr. Tiffany. So, you decided to do the minimum.
Secretary Becerra. No, that's--
Mr. Tiffany. One percent. That's what you said.
Secretary Becerra. I was about to go there--
Mr. Tiffany. ``OK, here's the law; that's all we're going
to do.'' In the meantime, you've got kids being placed in
addresses like a strip club in Jacksonville, Florida.
Secretary Becerra. That's what I was trying to say, it is
that's not the case. We do--
Mr. Tiffany. In your testimony--
Secretary Becerra. We do home studies at our discretion.
Most of the time, we have to require--we have to wait until we
have the funding, know we have the funding to do those
discretionary home studies, but we've expanded them. That's why
the Foundational Rule has become so important.
Mr. Tiffany. In your testimony, you said you coordinate
with the States and local municipalities to make sure that
you're working with them.
In this Florida presentment, it says, neither U.S.
Department of Homeland Security or HHS actively coordinates or
consults with the State on the UAC that are resettled in
Florida.
Did you see that part of the study? You aren't coordinating
with them?
Secretary Becerra. Congressman, I find that hard to
believe.
Mr. Tiffany. Why are you not coordinating with them?
Secretary Becerra. Remember, we used to have programs in
Florida that had licensed care facilities. Florida decided to
unlicense these facilities, and so we've been in constant touch
with Florida.
Mr. Tiffany. So, you said you've seen some of what was
presented here. Do you dispute the study from Florida?
Secretary Becerra. I have a number of issues with the
Florida report.
Mr. Tiffany. If you would share with me--and at an
appropriate time, not today--if you want to share with me all
the things you dispute in that study, in that presentment by
Florida, I would really like to see it.
Then, I want to take it to Florida and ask them, what were
you lying about? Because, obviously, you're telling me that
there's some misrepresentation by Florida here. Is that right?
Secretary Becerra. One thing you could really help us with
is checking with Florida to find out why they decided to not
allow licensed caregivers be part of our program. All the kids
that we place in care we try to place in licensed care
facilities--
Mr. Tiffany. Do you believe you're in charge of an assembly
line, as the Chair alluded to?
Secretary Becerra. If I could just conclude, the important
thing about Florida is, Florida took affirmative action to
unlicense centers that provide care--
Mr. Tiffany. I'll wait for your answer in regard to Florida
offline here. That'll be just fine.
I want to ask you the Harris question. Would you change
anything that you've done over the last four years in regard to
illegal immigration?
Secretary Becerra. Recognizing that we don't deal with
immigration--that is part of DHS's authority--we deal with the
care, the human services side of care for kids--
Mr. Tiffany. Would you change anything that you've done in
the last four years, with 320,000 children unaccounted for by
your administration?
Secretary Becerra. We work tirelessly to strengthen and
approve the program of the UC (unaccompanied children) that
come before us, and we work really hard to make sure we, first
and foremost, protect the safety and the well-being of those
kids. Every day is a challenge, and we do the best we can.
Mr. McClintock. The gentleman's time has expired.
The Chair recognizes Mr. Nadler for five minutes.
Mr. Nadler. Mr. Secretary, since Mr. Tiffany kept cutting
you off, would you answer the question about Florida that he
asked?
Secretary Becerra. Congressman, thank you, because I think
this is very important.
It's been very difficult to deal with some of the States
because we seek out licensed care facilities, because that is
the best practice to ensure child welfare. So, we don't place
these kids with just anybody; they have to be folks who are
licensed to care for kids.
So, when we had our facilities in Florida, they were
licensed. Florida took affirmative steps to say that they would
not license any caregiver who took care of unaccompanied
children. So, today, if a caregiver wants to come forward to
provide services to these unaccompanied children we have at
ORR, we cannot have them be licensed.
So, what we have done is essentially set the floor of what
licensing would be required for any caregiver in Florida to be
able to care for our kids. We don't understand why any State
would abrogate its responsibility of making sure caregivers are
licensed caregivers.
Mr. Nadler. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
Mr. Secretary, as you may know, last year, there were media
reports about how the Office of Refugee Resettlement did not
know the whereabouts of tens of thousands of unaccompanied
children who have been released to sponsors since the Biden
Administration began. Some of my Republican colleagues have
latched on to this headline to claim that the Biden
Administration, quote, ``lost'' these children.
Let's start with the most important question. Are those
children actually lost by the Federal Government?
Secretary Becerra. Yes, again, you're right, Congressman,
that's the way it is framed. I want to be clear, we have not--
Mr. Nadler. Can you explain why they're, in fact, not lost?
Secretary Becerra. Yes. First, to be clear, we have not
lost 85,000 kids.
We make every effort--even after we lose the authority to
continue to monitor the children once we have discharged them
and placed them with a vetted sponsor, we make an effort, on
our own dime essentially, to try to reach out to them. We
make--we call--we do what we call ``safety and well-being
calls.'' We try to reach the child and the sponsor three times
by phone to check in.
The children and the sponsors are not obligated to return
our call. We can't require them to do so. By the way, even if
they don't call back, that doesn't mean a child is lost.
Mr. Nadler. What are some of the reasons a sponsor or a
child might not answer when HHS does followup after release
through a phone call?
Secretary Becerra. I'm sorry, say that again.
Mr. Nadler. What are the reasons a child or a sponsor might
not answer when you followup with a phone call?
Secretary Becerra. They may be in school. They may be at a
doctor's appointment. They may not have the phone working
anymore. There are any number of reasons why they don't answer.
By the way, we do other things in an attempt to try to
contact them, including, as I've mentioned, some of these post-
release services.
Mr. Nadler. Can you discuss why the Office of Refugee
Resettlement is not able to do more? For example, why does it
not go to every sponsor's house in person to talk with each
child after they're released?
Secretary Becerra. Well, if we had the resources to do so,
it would be far easier to have a program that really reaches as
aggressively.
What we don't do is shortchange in the vetting process. We
make sure that we follow the best practices in the child
welfare field when it comes to determining whether a child
should be placed with a particular sponsor. Whether you're in
foster care at the State level or whether you are protecting
unaccompanied children in ORR, we use child welfare best
practices.
Mr. Nadler. Thank you. It seems like the only actual lost
children are the 1,000 children that were separated from their
parents by the Trump Administration that still have not been
reunited to this day.
Let's switch gears a bit. Mr. Secretary, thank you and all
the hardworking staff at HHS for the important work you're all
doing.
While ORR does its best to care for unaccompanied minors,
we know that the immigration system is broken, and that
comprehensive immigration reform is needed.
My Republican colleagues' marquee immigration legislation,
H.R. 2, would allow unaccompanied children to languish in
Border Patrol facilities for up to a month, force children to
quickly appear before an immigration judge with no access to an
attorney, and send children back to their home countries where
they're at high risk for exploitation and abuse.
Would this kind of legislation help or hurt unaccompanied
children?
Secretary Becerra. Congressman, what I will tell you is
that, if you're going to have the best interests of that child
in mind, you're going to try to be supportive of what they
need.
They are not adults. They don't know all the laws. They
don't know all these proceedings, whether it's a silent
proceeding or an immigration proceeding. You have to make sure
that they are fully aware, and those who can be responsible, an
adult who's supervising them, can be available to help them
out.
Mr. Nadler. So, this legislation would not help.
In your opinion, is it better to allow children to remain
in the United States with vetted sponsors while undergoing a
robust legal proceeding or to summarily deport them with
limited due process back to their home country and the
dangerous situation they just fled?
Secretary Becerra. Well, Congressman, again, I'm going to
be careful. I'm the Secretary; I'm no longer a Member of
Congress. I do know the laws when it comes to immigration.
Asylum--once you have claimed asylum, you're entitled in
this country to a hearing. You would have to change those laws
before you're able to summarily remove those protections for
those who claim asylum.
Mr. Nadler. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
My time has expired.
Mr. McClintock. Time has expired.
Mr. Nadler. I yield back.
Mr. McClintock. The Chair recognizes Mr. Roy of Texas.
Mr. Roy. I thank the Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Secretary, for appearing before the
Subcommittee.
You mentioned the State of Florida in the context of--I
think you characterized it as not being willing to work with
HHS.
On September--I'm sorry, on March 29, 2023, a Florida Grand
Jury released a report detailing the impact of the UAC influx
at the Southern border. The grand jury made some of the
following conclusions of the Office of Refugee Resettlement,
the component agency within HHS entrusted to you, Mr.
Secretary. Excerpt:
A disturbing pattern has emerged whereby the same sponsor
applies to receive multiple UACs, sometimes at the same
address, sometimes at a different one. Some individual sponsors
apply to receive more than one child at more than one address
simultaneously.
One address in Texas had 44 children sent to it. Another had
25. One sponsor in Bonita Springs, Florida, had multiple
children sent to multiple addresses, and he applied using
different versions of his hyphenated surname. One address in
Austin, Texas, had more than 100 UACs released to a single-
family dwelling.
A town which I represent.
Mr. Secretary, is this remotely consistent with the claims
by your Department that you're doing everything in your power
to ensure child security?
Secretary Becerra. Congressman, thank you for the question.
All potential sponsors, anyone who wishes to apply to
sponsor a child, must undergo an extensive vetting process that
follows child welfare best practices. We use a variety of
tools. We try to monitor as best we can. Recently, through the
Foundational Rule, we have established an even more extensive
process for vetting as well.
Mr. Roy. Do you believe that the HHS Foundational Rule from
April 30, 2024, is consistent with what you just said in terms
of background checks? Is it sufficient?
Secretary Becerra. The foundation rule is what we've built
to try to give us a better way to not only care for kids, but
also make sure--
Mr. Roy. Does it require full public records background
checks?
Secretary Becerra. I'm sorry?
Mr. Roy. Does it require full public records background
checks and FBI national criminal history checks?
Secretary Becerra. As I said, we follow child welfare best
practices when it comes to--
Mr. Roy. Yes or no, though? Do you do the full criminal
history checks for the potential sponsors of these children?
Secretary Becerra. Well, yes, we follow best--child best
practice--best practices--
Mr. Roy. Right. The answer is no.
Secretary Becerra. It's a yes. We follow child welfare best
practices.
Mr. Roy. That's not my question. My question is, do you do
backgrounds checks, or do full criminal records public
background checks for the FBI national criminal history?
Secretary Becerra. We certainly check for criminal records.
We check for sex offender in the sex offender registry. We do,
again, the different things that the child welfare--
Mr. Roy. The rule says you don't. The rule I'm talking
about says you do not.
Secretary Becerra. I'm sorry?
Mr. Roy. The rule that we're talking about was released on
April 30, 2024, says you do not.
Secretary Becerra. We do not what?
Mr. Roy. That you do not carry out FBI national criminal
history checks for all potential sponsors.
Secretary Becerra. We do background checks on every
individual--
Mr. Roy. Right, but that's a slippery description.
What I'm saying is, this rule is pretty clear in what it's
saying, that you do not provide the kind of background checks--
which, by the way, has created a problem.
So, let me move on in the interest of time.
Are you familiar with Maria Gonzalez, an 11-year-old girl
who lived in Pasadena, Texas? In August 2023, Miss Gonzalez was
allegedly raped and murdered by Juan Carlos Garcia-Rodriguez, a
Guatemalan national who appeared at the Southern border as a
UAC in January 2023 and was 17 years old. A month later, HHS
released Garcia-Rodriguez to a sponsor with a criminal history
and who previously had two other UACs in his care. Failed to
enroll them in school, as required by HHS.
How about the situation with respect to another individual,
Kayla Hamilton? Are you familiar with Walter Javier Martinez?
Martinez was a 17-year-old from El Salvador who appeared at the
border as a UAC in March 2022. Months later, in July 2022, he
raped and murdered Kayla Hamilton, a 20-year-old woman in
Maryland. After Martinez's release from the border and before
Ms. Hamilton's tragic death, HHS released him to a sponsor in
May 2022, despite Martinez having gang tattoos and an arrest
record for illicit association with MS-13.
Mr. Secretary, how can you credibly claim that HHS is
working to protect these children?
By the way, children we're talking about in the order of
magnitude of 400-and-something-thousand children, which you are
dismissing that they are lost.
Let me ask you a very specific question, Mr. Secretary. Can
you account for the whereabouts of those 400-and-something-
thousand children--the 320,000 that were put in the report by
the Inspector General, the 85,000 that we've talked about
before in 2023? Do you know where all these children are and
that they are safe? Yes or no?
Secretary Becerra. Congressman, as I explained the process,
we get these kids when they are referred to us by the
Department of Homeland Security. We then provide them with care
while they are in our custody. We lose custody of those kids
once we find a vetted sponsor with whom they can stay.
Mr. Roy. A vetted sponsor that rapes and murders the people
that they're entrusted to? Because you issue a rule that
doesn't even do the background check? That's what you think is
appropriate care for these children?
Secretary Becerra. Congressman, as I said, we do background
checks.
Mr. Roy. I yield back, Mr. Chair.
Mr. McClintock. The gentleman's time has expired.
The Chair recognizes Mr. Correa of California.
Mr. Correa. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
First, I want to welcome you, Secretary Becerra, to this
Committee and wanted to remind you that you are under oath
today, sir.
Are you a father?
Secretary Becerra. Three daughters.
Mr. Correa. Care for them deeply? I think it's safe to say
all of us here care for the welfare of all children,
irrespective of if they're our blood. They're children, God's
children. We take care of them, correct, sir?
Secretary Becerra. Even if they aren't your blood children,
you try to take care of them.
Mr. Correa. As a Member of the Homeland Security Committee,
I've had the opportunity to tour the border, both North and
South border, down at Tijuana, those areas where a lot of
refugees, asylum-seekers are actually held, waiting their turn
to possibly come to the U.S.
I also had the opportunity to tour a safe-house holding
children that had been rescued from the sex trade South of the
border. Children as young as eight years old rescued. If you
looked at their faces, you knew that those kids had lived
through unspeakable horrors.
So, I want to ask you, sir, in your opinion, is it better
to allow children to remain in the United States while they're
being vetted, their sponsors are being vetted, and they're
going through a robust legal procedure, or is it better to,
essentially, summarily deport them with limited due process
back to their home country or South of the border? Which, in
your opinion, is best for those children?
Secretary Becerra. Again, Congressman, respecting that I
don't have immigration law within my jurisdiction, what I will
tell you is that we've had decades of research on how best to
care for kids, especially those who have undergone trauma. What
you want to do is provide them with stability. You want to
provide them with the care that they need. You want to make
sure that they have a safe place to be. You want to make sure
that they are well fed, they're not ill-equipped.
That's what we do. It's a tough job. We do that for a lot
of these kids who have gone through hardship and trauma. If you
take them out of that setting, who knows where they will end
up, what will happen to them.
That is why, in fact, under the law, the Department of
Homeland Security does not detain these kids and hold them.
Because they detain adults. They're--it's an adult detention
facility that's used for those who have to be held. That's not
appropriate for kids. That's why, under the law, we get them.
So, when you asked the question, I think you and I as
parents--I have three daughters--I would want to make sure my
children received the kinds of services that the experts over
decades of time have said are the best way to help a child heal
and treat the trauma and hardship they've suffered.
Mr. Correa. I hear my colleagues from the other side of the
aisle, colleagues from Texas, talking about children that are
lost in the system, children that end up in areas not intended
to.
How long has this been going on? Is this something new?
Refugees have been at our Southern border for a couple of
decades, so how long has the U.S. Government been challenged to
work through this issue, dealing with unaccompanied minors as
they present themselves in chaotic situations at our border?
Secretary Becerra. Congressman, as you're indicating, a
number of administrations, numerous previous administrations
have had to tackle these challenges--
Mr. Correa. Both Republican and Democrat?
Secretary Becerra. Republican and Democrat--dealing with
the issue of unaccompanied children.
By the way, ``lost''--you can't say because someone doesn't
answer a phone call that it means they are lost.
Mr. Correa. Is that part of the definition here we're
using, that if you don't answer--if a sponsor doesn't pick up
that phone, then that child is lost? Is that what you're
saying?
Secretary Becerra. That's what they're interpreting. The
fact that a child may not answer a phone call that we place
when we try to check in with them, they then--
Mr. Correa. Mr. Secretary, we all have the best interests
in mind of these children.
Secretary Becerra. Yes.
Mr. Correa. So, I'm concerned as well.
What else do you need, what other tools, what other
resources do you need so somebody else can make second, third,
or fourth phone call, maybe have a personnel go out and check
out that home situation? What do you need to make sure you
increase the probability of a safe environment for those
children?
Secretary Becerra. Sir, to give you context, in 2021, when
I began as Secretary, about one in every five kids we were able
to reach through what we are calling our post-release services.
Today, we provide that to 100 percent of the children that we
release to a vetted sponsor.
What could I use? What would help us? The resources to make
sure we continue that. Because the moment you make cuts to our
program, our first responsibility is to provide the care in the
places that we have, and the secondary thing we can do is try
to provide them with post-release services.
So, if you cut the dollars that we use, if we don't have
enough to do our principal responsibility of caring for these
kids, we have to make cuts to things like post-release
services.
Mr. McClintock. The gentleman's time has expired.
Mr. Correa. Mr. Chair, I yield.
Mr. McClintock. The Chair recognizes Mr. Van Drew.
Mr. Van Drew. Thank you, Chair.
Secretary, I want to thank you for your service in
Congress.
I want to let you know, if you don't know already, I'm a
blunt guy. So, you're going to have to forgive me in advance.
What's going on here is bad.
You talked about mandates. We have a human mandate, a
humane mandate, and an American mandate. I hear lots of words
where we talk about the bureaucracy, and we talk about all the
speeches that everybody's giving and lots of money is the
answer to it. Money sometimes helps, no doubt about it, but you
have to have the basic rules, the basic foundation to do things
right.
Just before I go into some questions and ideas here, let's
tell the truth. It's tell-the-truth time. We eased the
background checks greatly. Yes, you do very often do background
checks, but they're not good enough, and that was done in the
rule. We allow those who want to refuse criminal background
checks, and some kids are put in those homes and in danger.
Having a criminal background is not prohibited. Let's tell
the truth. I can read, this Committee can read, we all can
read. We know what the truth is. That all sponsors are not
vetted--that's the truth. That's what's really happening. Let's
deal with the real world.
You've played an integral role in establishing the
Unaccompanied Children Program Foundational Rule. The details
of the rule, to me, are so abhorrent that it's no wonder some
of the worst individuals have been able to exploit it and slip
into our country. It's no wonder that hundreds of thousands of
unaccompanied alien children have gone missing under this
watch.
The details of the rule, in my opinion, are insane. We're
dealing with kids; we're dealing with children. The rule allows
sponsors to refuse background checks. As I said--let me say it
again--a sponsor can refuse a background check, and they still
can be eligible for taking on a vulnerable child.
There's a new State adoption agency anywhere in this
country, in any State in this country, that would allow this
for any foster parent, for any adoptive parent, for any
American citizen who wanted to adopt. Why are we not holding
sponsors of unaccompanied children to at least the same
standard that we hold them?
The rule also fails to disqualify individuals with criminal
records or child welfare violations from serving as sponsors.
How wrong is that? Again, we wouldn't allow an adoptive
American citizen to do that to an adopted child. Why do we let
them?
It gets worse. The rule also actively prevents the sharing
of critical immigration-related information with enforcement.
You said certain things aren't your job. That's what
enforcement is there for. There should be a communication,
there should be a dialog back and forth, especially when
sponsors are under investigation for human trafficking or
smuggling. You want to know that from the Feds. It's evil. It's
wrong. I don't know how we justify it.
The rule works to undermine age verification processes--and
you can read it in the rule; I'm not making it up--which
enables adults posing as children to exploit the system and
gain easier access into the United States of America.
Even if there is evidence of criminal backgrounds, the rule
is designed to create barriers to placing the UACs in secure
facilities. This Committee has seen the tragic real-world
examples of it. Some of it was mentioned by my colleagues.
Kayla Hamilton, 20-year-old young woman. She was brutally
raped, she was brutally beaten, she was murdered by someone
with ties to MS-13 who pretended to be a minor, and nobody
stopped it. If we had done our job and put the safety of
Americans and the safety of kids over processing illegals
quickly, she would still be alive today.
I associate myself with some of the remarks that
Congressman Correa said. They're kids. We all love our kids. I
know you love your kids. Think about that. This woman's dead.
We're not going to bring her back, ever. There's no speech, no
bureaucratic action that's going to bring her back.
I've seen a lot of stuff, man. I've been in the State
Senate, the State Assembly, County Commission, Mayor,
Congresswoman now for six years. Man, I haven't seen too many
rules that are worse than this rule, because it deals with
kids, and it hurts children. It's bad for everyone involved.
It's bad for taxpayers, it's bad for American communities, and
it's bad, most importantly, for the undocumented children.
So, I have some questions, and I've got 23 seconds.
Secretary Becerra, I just want a yes or no: Knowing how this
rule has worked, do you still believe it was the right answer
to the border crisis? Yes or no? Yes or no?
Secretary Becerra. Congresswoman--Congressman, the way
you've interpreted the rule is not the rule that we passed, so
it'd be tough to give you a yes or no.
Mr. Van Drew. Well, your interpretation of the rule, do you
think it was right?
Secretary Becerra. Well, let me give you a quick example.
Mr. Van Drew. I don't need an example.
Secretary Becerra. We do a background check for any
potential--
Mr. Van Drew. I need a yes or a no. Mr. Secretary, I need a
yes or a no. I can always answer questions ``yes'' or ``no.''
Is the rule good? Is it what you want? Would you continue
with it? Yes or no?
Secretary Becerra. Congressman, you said we--OK--a sponsor
can refuse a background check. That's not true. No sponsor who
wishes to take a child can refuse a background check.
Mr. Van Drew. I read the rule. I had people read the rule a
whole lot smarter than me.
Mr. McClintock. The gentleman's--
Secretary Becerra. That's not the rule we enforce.
Mr. Van Drew. I unfortunately have to yield back.
Mr. Chair, I'd like to submit these questions to the Chair.
Mr. McClintock. Without objection.
Mr. McClintock. The gentleman's time has expired.
Mr. Garcia?
Mr. Garcia. Thank you, Mr. Chair, for the opportunity.
Thank you, Secretary Becerra, for being here today and to
your staff for all the work and the progress that has been made
to a very imperfect system. Its history goes back a long, long
ways.
As a former and current foster parent, this issue is near
and dear to my heart. I've seen some of the trials and
tribulations that children have endured as it relates to
trauma. I've seen their resilience. This remains a challenge to
our system and certainly to your office and the Office of
Refugee Resettlement.
Is it fair to say that the protocols that you utilize in
placing children are pretty similar to what most States in the
Union utilize when placing children?
Secretary Becerra. Foster-care programs also try to look to
the best practices for child welfare. So, I can't say they're
exactly the same, but we follow the best practices of child
welfare professionals.
Mr. Garcia. Those are pretty rigorous, I might say, as
someone who is currently abiding by them so, yes.
Secretary Becerra. Yes, you would know.
Mr. Garcia. Most of these children arrive after
experiencing severe trauma. Can you describe some of the
resources that ORR provides to children as it relates to mental
health and emotional well-being and if they're made available
in other languages besides English?
Secretary Becerra. So, yes, because so many of the kids
come with no familiarity with language--with English, so we do
provide language services support.
In terms of behavioral health, we do a full assessment of
the child once the Department of Homeland Security places them
in our care, and we try to make sure we're checking for their
physical and mental health to make sure we provide them with
the professionals that they might need. So, that could be any
number of things. Obviously, the smaller they are, the more
intense and professional the service must be.
On behavioral health and mental health services, we will do
an assessment and then provide them with the services that they
need in our care.
Mr. Garcia. Inder your leadership, Mr. Secretary, HHS has
finalized much-needed regulations aimed at protecting
unaccompanied children. The regulation implements and codified
protections required by the Flores settlement and enhances the
legal framework, as well, for the care and treatment of
unaccompanied children.
Can you describe how the new regulations will help improve
the protection of unaccompanied children?
Secretary Becerra. Again, we're talking about the
Foundational Rule, to respond to the previous questions by the
Congressman, it would be inconsistent with the Flores
settlement, the court case, for us not to do background checks.
So, we must do background checks, not only because our rule
says it, but because the case law says we must do it as well.
What else do we do? We provide an Ombudsman office. That
office is there to make sure staff or stakeholders can report
any incident and do it with someone who's impartial and
independent of the work that we do, to report any incidents
that are of concern.
We make sure that we provide enhanced medical services, to
your point about behavioral health. We provide enhanced
educational services to children. We try to provide legal
advocacy services as well.
Mr. Garcia. Thank you.
My final question is, I'm asking you to look at the future
from what you have internalized so far during your tenure in
your position.
As we continue to see migration driven by violence,
political unrest, climate change, and economic instability,
especially in the hemisphere, how is ORR preparing or should be
preparing for potential future surges in possible unaccompanied
children at the border?
Secretary Becerra. We have--and this is an excellent
question, Congressman, because we never have a clear sense of
how many kids will come to our care from the Department of
Homeland Security. Obviously, in 2021 there were large numbers.
Today, we have got a system that really can manage the children
that are coming to us.
What we do is we have to prepare, because we can't afford
to not have a place for a child if the consequence is to leave
them in an adult detention facility at DHS. So, we make
arrangements with potential care providers to have them
available.
We also have what we call ``emergency influx facilities''
that we can quickly ramp up in the event that we have a large
influx of children so we can provide them the services they
need.
Mr. Garcia. Very well. Thank you very much.
My time's almost expired. Mr. Chair, I yield back.
Mr. McClintock. The gentleman yields back.
The Chair recognizes Mr. Moore.
Mr. Moore. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Secretary, welcome.
Before my time, I understand that this Committee had three
hearings on lost children under the Trump Administration. At
that time, it was only a thousand lost children.
If I remember correctly, there was a certain Member--and I
won't give her name, but her initials are ``AOC''--that put on
a white suit and went to the border to protest these thousand
lost children.
Now, my friend, The New York Times, actually--and this is
not a Republican rag, by the way--reported in February 2023,
HHS had lost over 85,000 unaccompanied children.
My question to you is, as this process--I think you're in
over your head. I think the administration has buried you. I
don't think there's any way you can keep track of what's going
on at the Southern border, and we're losing children by the
droves.
When you talk about background checks, how is it that one
individual could have 20 children? How does that happen, Mr.
Secretary?
Secretary Becerra. Congressman, thanks for the question.
Actually, I think I heard two questions there.
The first is on ``lost''--85,000 ``lost'' kids. Again, not
answering a phone call, that does not mean a child is lost--
Mr. Moore. Mr. Secretary, let me tell you something. If my
wife calls one of my kids and on about the second call we don't
know where that child is, it is pandemonium around the Moore
household.
I've got news for you. When you're losing children to the
tune of 85,000, there are parents somewhere in this world--and
I don't know where the parents are--that are sending these
children here for some reason. They are being trafficked or
they are being used for child labor.
Again, this is The New York Times--this is not a Republican
talking point, this is not a Republican rag. This is The New
York Times talking about the mismanagement of this
administration of these children and how we've lost them.
So, my question to you is, how does one sponsor get 20
children? If we're background-checking, in fact, how does that
happen?
Secretary Becerra. Congressman, every sponsor must go
through a background-check process. Every sponsor must be able
to show--
Mr. Moore. Mr. Secretary, what if they're a foreign
national? Are you background-checking if they're foreign
nationals? Is it possible that MS-13 is bringing their people
across the border and taking custody of these children and
putting them into trafficking and other unspeakable sort of
things? Is that possible?
Secretary Becerra. Remember, I mentioned in my opening
testimony that the vast majority, 80-90 percent, of the kids
that we place are placed with the parent, a very close
relative--
Mr. Moore. If you're not doing bioidentical--if you're not
identifying these people with biometrics, how do you know
they're the parents?
Secretary Becerra. So, there are many ways to provide--or,
to prove identity. You can look at citizenship--
Mr. Moore. So, they can prove their identity to take
custody of children but not to vote? Is that what you're
telling me?
Secretary Becerra. I'm sorry, can you repeat that?
Mr. Moore. So, you're saying voter ID doesn't need to be
required, there's no way to verify somebody's identity, but if
they're going to take custody of a child from a foreign
country, you're saying they do have an ID or they need to have
an ID?
Secretary Becerra. You said voter ID?
Mr. Moore. Yes. What I'm saying, in other words, is you're
requiring ID for these people supposedly to take these
children, but then you're saying--many times on the left, they
say, well, voter ID is racist or discriminatory.
So, explain to me, how is it that you're verifying the ID
of these people if they don't have IDs and nobody can get IDs?
Secretary Becerra. Thank you for the question.
Identity documents are one of the many tools that we use to
try to ascertain the relationship of the child with the
potential sponsor, but there are many other things that we'll
do. If there's a sponsor that has not provided sufficient
identification and proven that tie to the child, we can turn to
things like fingerprinting if we need to.
Mr. Moore. So, you think this person that got these 20
children is related to all 20 of those kids? Is that what I'm
hearing? Or--
Secretary Becerra. What I can tell you again is that every
sponsor must go through a vetting process to be able to sponsor
any child.
Mr. Moore. If they're a foreign national, we do vet those
people as well? Or--
Secretary Becerra. Anyone who wishes to apply to sponsor a
child must go through the process. If they decline to go
through the process, they cannot sponsor.
Mr. Moore. Well, earlier, one of the members mentioned that
a certain sponsor had kids delivered to different addresses.
How do you cross-reference that? How do you justify that?
Secretary Becerra. I'm not familiar with any case that
you're referencing, but what I will tell you again is, when
we--
Mr. Moore. That was the Florida grand jury case, by the
way.
Secretary Becerra. --yes--go through the background checks,
we ascertain any number of things, including residence, where
the child will be placed.
We check on the household members in that place as well, in
the home. So, we go through the process of not only vetting
sponsors, but we also check with those members in the
household.
Mr. Moore. So, in the Florida grand jury case, where the
one child was delivered to the strip club, is that--did y'all
vet that location? Was that considered a house? I mean, is a
strip club now considered a house for children being trafficked
or lost?
Secretary Becerra. As I mentioned, Congressman, we can
discuss the Florida report. There are many issues that we have
with that report.
Mr. Moore. Let me ask you a really quick question. I'm
going to change subjects really quick. Many of the members had
mentioned it, the Kayla Hamilton case, where Mr. Martinez, he
came across as an unaccompanied child and then ended up killing
Ms. Hamilton.
How many UACs, unaccompanied children, now do we have in
secure facilities, are you housing in secure facilities? Do you
know?
Secretary Becerra. We use secure facilities if we don't
believe that we can manage the children or keep the children
they would be around safe, or perhaps even for the safety of
the individual.
I don't have that number. I can take that back to my team.
Mr. Moore. Yes, we'd be curious to know that.
I'm trying to figure out how in the world we--I had a
situation in one of my areas where a young lady was raped by a
31-year-old that identified as an unaccompanied child, and he
came to this country and then drug a 14-year-old girl into a
restroom and raped her, and yet he was identified as a child.
I don't know how you understand a 31-year-old--how does
he--how do you identify that as a child? Is there any test on
age when the kids come here? Do you get any documentation on
birth certificates or anything like that?
Secretary Becerra. You're going to many of the documents
and the ways that we try to ascertain not just the child's
identity, but also get into the background of anyone who wishes
to sponsor.
Mr. McClintock. The gentleman's--
Mr. Moore. How does a 31-year-old identify as a child?
Ms. Jayapal. Mr. Chair, it's way over time.
Mr. McClintock. The gentleman's time has expired.
Mr. Moore. I yield back.
Mr. McClintock. Ms. Ross?
Ms. Ross. Thank you, Secretary Becerra. I apologize for my
tardiness.
Secretary Becerra. No, no.
Ms. Ross. I understand that some of the questions that I
was going to ask you about unaccompanied minors have been
covered, so I'm going to just find out what you think the
status of Temporary Protected Status individuals are.
Given the conflicts that are going on around the world and
the people who are seeking asylum in so many different ways,
could you reflect on where the Biden Administration has been
with TPS and share advice that you would give to the incoming
administration for how to deal with people who come here
seeking refuge under TPS?
Secretary Becerra. Congresswoman, you're taking me back to
my days as a Member of this body--in fact, a Member of this
Committee as well.
As Secretary, we do not have jurisdiction over issues like
Temporary Protected Status. That falls under the jurisdiction
of the Department of Homeland Security.
What I will tell you is this: The TPS process is one that
has helped many individuals who have--are afraid that, if they
return, they would return to violence and persecution.
The Temporary Protected Status system has been in place
under many administrations, Republican and Democratic. It is a
way that we have been able to protect families--individuals and
families from the harm that they could face if they were to be
sent back home.
Ms. Ross. My next question to you is: You've had this job;
it's been a tough job because you inherited just a complete
mess, particularly for unaccompanied minors and for family
separation. You've made some progress.
If you could give advice to the next Administration for
maybe the top three things that they should do to build on the
progress that you've made--we know nothing's perfect, but what
should they do if they really wanted to make a difference in
this area?
Secretary Becerra. First, Congresswoman, safety and well-
being, that has to be always the first priority when it comes
to unaccompanied children, is safety and well-being,
recognizing that some of these kids are in our care after going
through some truly traumatic experiences, some severe hardship.
Our job is to try to help care for them, but our principal
job is to place them in a better setting than the congregate
care facilities that we have, because you want to help them--
help cure them from those devastating experiences that they
have, and the best place to do that is in a home, in a
community, and in a place where they can be with people who
care for them. While we care for them, again, congregate
settings, we do the best job we can.
So, I would say, on top of always putting safety and well-
being at the top of your list, second, making sure you have the
resources so that not only the care you give while they're with
you is good but that you can help provide the services that
help make them transition to a new sponsor, one that will work
for the child.
Ms. Ross. OK. Then, finally, what was the most
inspirational thing you got to do, serving as Secretary?
Secretary Becerra. Oh, my gosh. We're talking beyond the
Unaccompanied Children Program?
Ms. Ross. Yes. Yes. Because your term's coming to an end,
and so it's always nice to reflect on something positive.
Secretary Becerra. Yes. In all my notes, I didn't prepare
for that question, Congresswoman.
What I will tell you is that, watching as more Americans
today have access to healthcare because they have their own
health insurance than ever before. A record number, more than
300 million Americans today, have their own health insurance
coverage. That's never happened in the history of our country.
President Biden made that possible.
We have more people today--virtual country has been
vaccinated against COVID, and so we've been able to function.
We don't have to wear a mask everywhere we go, we don't have to
distance, and we don't have to watch our loved ones die in
isolation because we can't be with them.
Having gone through a pandemic that none of us had
experienced before was something that was a tremendous
challenge, and watching how we tried to make sure America got
healthy, so our economy got healthy was critical.
I would simply say it's giving us a chance to do what we're
supposed to do, is improve the health of the American people.
Ms. Ross. Well, as a legislator from North Carolina, I want
to thank you for your assistance with Medicaid expansion--
Secretary Becerra. Absolutely.
Ms. Ross. --because that's the most important thing that
happened in our State during your tenure.
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I yield back.
Mr. McClintock. The gentlelady yields back.
On behalf of Mr. Biggs, the Chair requests unanimous
consent to place into the record a copy of the appropriations
language of funding ORR at $6.4 billion for Fiscal Year 2024.
Mr. McClintock. The Chair recognizes Mr. Rulli for five
minutes.
Mr. Rulli. Mr. Chair, I yield my time back to the Chair.
Mr. McClintock. Oh, well, thank you.
Mr. Secretary, you mentioned, well, the three calls that
you make to followup, could be they just aren't by the phone or
they're at school or at work or something.
So, OK, so you make the three calls, and you can't contact
either the sponsor or the child. So now what?
Secretary Becerra. Congressman, I would pose the question
back to you, because our--
Mr. McClintock. Well, now what? Do you just shrug your
shoulders and go on?
Secretary Becerra. No. That's why we have tried to expand--
Mr. McClintock. Well, what are you doing then?
Secretary Becerra. That's why we have expanded--
Mr. McClintock. As Mr. Moore said, if it was my child and I
couldn't get a hold of them or the person who's looking after
them in three separate phone calls, I would be freaking out.
Now, you're the surrogate parent in this case. What do you
do after the three calls go unanswered? You're telling us,
you're assuring us these children aren't lost, but how are you
following up after that? Or are you?
Secretary Becerra. Congressman, if you give me a chance to
respond--because you pose a great question, because you and I,
as parents, would want to make sure that we know what's going
on with our children. We make every effort. We don't have--
Mr. McClintock. Three calls, and then what after that?
Secretary Becerra. Congressman, our responsibility is to
provide care while they are in our custody. Under the law--
Mr. McClintock. Mr. Secretary, you have dropped them off at
a sponsor's house. You now can't get ahold of them. That's on
you. What do you do after that?
What I'm hearing back is you don't do anything. You shrug
your shoulders and then send another batch of kids out to
another group of sponsors' homes. That's frightening to me, and
it's frightening to everybody who has watched this terrible,
terrible situation unfold on your watch.
Mr. Van Drew mentioned your Unaccompanied Children Program
Foundational Rule and noted that this was a giant step back
from rigorous vetting.
Failure to categorically disqualify sponsors with criminal
or other child welfare history concerns, instead requiring case
managers to first consider a potential sponsor's resources and
strengths, never mind that they've got a criminal conviction.
Barring the sharing of immigrant information for potential
sponsors with law enforcement officials; finding out, are these
people trustworthy?
Weakening the veracity of age determinations of UACs by
requiring forensic evidence that indicates that an adult is
posing as a UAC, in your rule's words, ``should not be used as
sole determining factor but only in concert with other
factors,'' and then shifting the burden of proof so that the
ambiguous, debatable, or borderline forensic examination
results are resolved in favor of finding the individual is a
child.
That doesn't sound like a step forward in rigorous vetting.
That sounds like a step backward, to me.
It was mentioned, Senator Grassley's finding, and one
particularly disturbing case--that one child was placed with a
known affiliate of the dangerous MS-13 gang. Now, according to
the documents, HHS disregarded multiple warnings by a case
manager about the potential danger of the UAC being placed in
this home. This rigorous vetting that you're talking about--you
were actually warned by the case manager that you were placing
this child with an MS-13 gang member. That doesn't sound like
rigorous vetting to me.
Since January 20, 2021, when this administration took
office, can you tell me the total number of unaccompanied
children that HHS has placed with known or suspected gang
members?
Secretary Becerra. Was that a question for me?
Mr. McClintock. Yes.
Secretary Becerra. Please repeat the question. I thought
you were making a comment.
Mr. McClintock. The question is, how many children have
been placed with known MS-13 gang members? We know of one. What
do you know?
Secretary Becerra. Congressman, obviously, when we go
through the extensive vetting process, we make sure that--what
we try to do is place them with someone who'll keep them safe.
Obviously, someone who is involved in gang activity would not
be someone we would consider to be safe.
Mr. McClintock. Yet, you did so anyway after you were
warned by the case manager.
You've placed, what, 440 UACs with sponsors--440,000--
during your tenure?
Secretary Becerra. We have placed a large number. I don't
know if that's the precise number, but a large number.
Mr. McClintock. Well, again, you assure us that the
Department undertakes rigorous background reviews of all these
sponsors. So, can you tell me how many sponsors have been
rejected for failing to pass background checks?
Secretary Becerra. Well, certainly, no sponsor who--where
we flagged certain activity, whether it's criminal records,
where we flagged--
Mr. McClintock. Well, how many have you flagged?
Secretary Becerra. I certainly can try to get back to you
with some information on that. I could take that back to my
team. I don't have a number with me as we speak.
Mr. McClintock. Do you know how many you've disqualified
because of previous murder convictions?
Secretary Becerra. I don't have those kinds of numbers.
Mr. McClintock. How about child abuse convictions?
Secretary Becerra. Certainly, none of those individuals,
when they go through the vetting process, would be able to go
through--
Mr. McClintock. What about trafficking and child
pornography?
The Ranking Member reminds me that my time--Mr. Rulli's
time has expired.
The Chair now recognizes Mr. Hunt of Texas.
Mr. Hunt. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The Biden-Harris Refugee Resettlement Program is not your
grandfather's refugee program, and I'm going to tell you why.
I grew up thinking that ``refugees'' meant the most
vulnerable people in the world--but not so much under the
Biden-Harris Administration. The left can never leave anything
alone and not even the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program.
President Biden has reimagined U.S. refugees.
You might've missed this, but the Biden-Harris
Administration in January 2023, created a program called the
Welcome Corps. Under the Welcome Corps program, U.S. permanent
residents--noncitizens--can recommend and sponsor noncitizens
to be U.S. refugees. Yes, you heard that correctly. Noncitizens
can sponsor noncitizens to become refugees in my America.
Let's make an analogy that the liberal elites will
understand. Imagine you are a member of a country club. You pay
dues, and you enjoy all the benefits that come with being a
member of that club. Then, one day, you invite a guest to visit
the country club, and then the guest invites another nonmember
to visit the club, and before you know it, the membership is
irrelevant. Another member may then ask, how are you inviting
people to the club? Are you a member? The guest will say, no,
but I'm a lawful permanent resident.
The whole purpose of reimagining the U.S. refugee program
is to demean and devalue what it means to become a U.S.
citizen. Citizenship matters. Borders matter.
Having borders is the difference between having a country
run by President Trump or by a Haitian warlord, Barbecue. I am
sure that some of you are familiar with the recent Spirit
Airlines flight that landed in Haiti and was immediately met
with gunfire. As I said, borders are important.
In 2020, under President Trump, close to 12,000 refugees
were admitted into the United States. Just this past year,
under the Biden Administration, the number of admitted refugees
has ballooned to over 100,000 people, the highest number in
three decades.
Let me tell you about another Biden-Harris initiative for
noncitizens. The Biden-Harris Administration has the initiative
for refugees called the New Americans Partnership, which is an
initiative that fosters collaboration between housing agencies
and refugee resettlement agencies to support the housing needs
of said new Americans.
New Americans? What about the Americans that are already
here? Americans are dreamers too. Americans are refugees too.
They're refugees of Democrat-run cities. Now, I am sure there
are Americans living in Inglewood who would love to move to
Beverly Hills. I'm sure there are Americans living in Harlem
that would love to move to the Upper East Side. I am sure there
are Americans living in the South side of Chicago who would
love to move to Lake Forest.
Take a look at the last census. Americans are fleeing
Democrat-run States for the haven of Republican States. Why is
that?
Under the Biden-Harris Administration, Americans are left
behind while the needs of new Americans are pushed to the front
of the line of taxpaying Americans. There's a reason why
President Trump won every swing State this year and the first
Republican to win the popular vote in 20 years. Americans are
sick and tired of being treated like second-class citizens in
our own country.
President Trump created opportunity zones for Black
Americans. President Biden and Democrat mayors created
opportunity zones for illegal immigrants. For the left, it's
the new Americans first and Americans last.
I've said this before. It's not the ``Great Replacement''
theory; this is the definition of the ``Great Replacement''
fact. The left wants to allow millions of people into this
country, whether that be legally or illegally, so that United
States citizenship means essentially nothing.
In this country, we don't have Americans--or old Americans
or new Americans; we just have my fellow Americans. Now that
President Trump is back, I'm happy to say that all American
citizens will be treated with respect once again.
With that, I yield back my time. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. McClintock. The gentleman yields back.
The Chair now claims his own five minutes to sum up the
concerns I have with all of this checking that you keep
assuring us is so rigorous.
Your ORR Director, Dunn Marcos, told the Committee that HHS
routinely contacts foreign consulates or embassies to verify
UACs' documents. Is that correct?
Secretary Becerra. We work with the consulate offices, Mr.
Chair, to try to--
Mr. McClintock. You verify the information of these
children with the consulate. When you're doing that, do you
ever ask for the child's criminal history?
Secretary Becerra. We continue--
Mr. McClintock. Again, we're talking about adolescents here
and sometimes adults pretending to be teenage--or, pretending
to be adolescents.
Secretary Becerra. As I've said before, Mr. Chair, we are
not a law enforcement agency, we're not an immigration agency--
Mr. McClintock. No, you're a placement agency. You're
placing these children in what you keep assuring us are
carefully vetted homes. Yet, according to your own ORR Director
admitting to this Committee in a transcribed interview that
when HHS contacts the consulate to verify information on the
UAC, they do not ask for any criminal background information on
that UAC. So, they don't know if it's a gang member, and they
don't ask.
Why would she tell us this?
Secretary Becerra. Congressman, we go through a vetting
process to ensure that we know who the child is and then for
the placement--
Mr. McClintock. You--yes--of course.
That's what she testified. Then she also testified that you
specifically do not inquire into the criminal background of
these individuals who are 17 years old and sometimes older and
pretending to be 17, with gang tattoos, with gang affiliations.
While you have got them on the phone and you are verifying
information on that UAC, you don't bother to ask, ``Oh, by the
way, is this an MS-13 gang member? Does this individual have a
criminal history?''
Then you place them in foster homes, you release them into
our communities, and there are some cases, tragic cases, where
they go on to murder innocent Americans like Kayla Hamilton.
Mr. Tiffany asked you, is there anything you'd do
differently, looking back on these past four years. Is there
anything you'd do differently in the Kayla Hamilton case?
Secretary Becerra. Mr. Chair, we work closely with the
Department of Homeland Security, which does the vetting for
these children when they first enter into the country--
Mr. McClintock. You're placing them--you are the ones that
are placing them in people's homes. You're the one who's
telling me,
Don't worry about it. They're all carefully vetted. They're all
secure. Don't worry that we can't reach them by phone after
we've placed them in these homes. It might be they just weren't
paying attention to the phone.
Do you understand how this--do you understand how this
affects the lives of a population that you've placed that's
approaching the size of the State of Wyoming? Some of them,
innocent defenseless children; others, gang members who are 17
years old or even older, pretending to be 17 years old.
You're in charge of all this. You can't tell us if there's
anything you'd even do differently after four years of this
nightmare that has unfolded not only for our country, but for
these children and their families.
What do you have to say for yourself, Mr. Secretary? This
is the end of this administration. It's the end of your tenure.
What do you have to say for yourself?
Because the words that keep haunting me are those that
Cromwell spoke to the Long Parliament:
You have sat here too long for any good you have been doing. It
is not fit that you should sit here any longer. You shall now
give way to better men. Now, depart and go, I say. In the name
of God, go.
Secretary Becerra. Mr. Chair, if you will allow me, then,
to respond.
We work closely with various agencies. In the case of the
vetting of the child, it is the Department of Homeland Security
that does the initial vetting, because they're the ones that
have custody of that child once the child is in the U.S. The
Department of Homeland Security is the agency that goes through
that process of trying to determine who this child is,
including those issues that you have mentioned with regard to
any past criminal conduct.
When we receive the children, the Department of Homeland
Security shares with us the information they have compiled on
that child. From there, what we try to do is make sure we care
for the child, and in the process of trying to find them a
sponsor where they can live in a community, we go through the
vetting of the individual potential sponsor.
Mr. McClintock. Mr. Secretary, when the history of this
administration is written, I would not want to be you looking
back on what historians say about your tenure. I'm sorry, but
that's the fact.
If there's no further business to be brought before the
Subcommittee, the Subcommittee will stand adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 3:33 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]
All materials submitted for the record by the Members of
the Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and
Enforce-
ment can be found at the following links: https://
docs.house.gov/
Committee/Calendar/ByEvent.aspx?EventID=117565.
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