Key Takeaways:
– Retired Border Patrol agent J.J. Carrell has accused the US government of being the world’s largest child sex trafficking organization.
– Over 300,000 migrant children are unaccounted for according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
– The average age of a U.S. trafficking victim is between 12 and 15.
– HHS Whistleblower Tara Rodas recommends DNA testing, penalizing sponsors who lose track of children, and heightened intelligence efforts as potential solutions to the problem.
Cryptic Child Trafficking Claims from an Ex-Border Patrol Agent
J.J. Carrell, a retired Border Patrol agent, has made head-turning allegations against the United States federal government. Carrell has boldly named the government as the world’s most potent child sex trafficking organization, sparking clamors for closer examination and action.
Carrell, with 24 years of Border Patrol service, speaking before the Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement, claimed that current President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas knowingly and intentionally used illegal immigration to change America. He said that child trafficking, especially child sex trafficking, has flourished amidst the immigration crisis.
The Disappearance of Migrant Children
There’s a grave issue with missing migrant children. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported in August that more than 300,000 migrant children’s whereabouts or statuses are unknown. From 2019 to 2023, 32,000 illegal alien minors didn’t turn up for their immigration court hearing, while 291,000 others never received a court date.
Setting a stark contrast to these alarming statistics is the fact that the average age for child trafficking victims aligns eerily with the missing children’s ages. Victims of trafficking in the U.S. usually fall between 12 and 15 years of age. This implies that missing migrant minors could potentially become victims of child sex trafficking.
The Vulnerability of Migrant Children
When unaccompanied migrant children are captured at the border, they get transferred into the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement’s custody. The child will then be placed with a sponsor who could either be a distant relative or a stranger. Here lies a possible opportunity for traffickers to take advantage of vulnerable children.
Tara Rodas, an HHS recruited employee, who was tasked with helping unaccompanied migrant children, bore witness to the troubling realities within the department. She observed that the HHS lacked the appropriate knowledge, skills, and ability to protect children from traffickers. She further described child trafficking as a sophisticated operation resembling terrorist organizations in operation tactics.
Urgent Call for Solutions
Rodas called on the government to step up its fight against child trafficking. She suggested implementing DNA testing for sponsors claiming to be a child’s relative. In addition, substantial penalties should be handed to sponsors unable to account for placed children.
She also stressed the need for the full might of intelligence and law enforcement communities to dismantle child trafficking networks. With these actions, Rodas believes the problem can be significantly mitigated. It’s about time that greater effort was directed to protect the countless vulnerable children caught up in this hidden nightmare.