Biggs Grills Becerra on Missing Migrant Children

A House Judiciary subcommittee held a hearing Wednesday with Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra on its policies for resettling unaccompanied child migrants (UACs) crossing the southern border, during which Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ) grilled Becerra on the apparent lack of proper vetting of the children's sponsors.

"Do your policies at [the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR)] place priority on speedy placement of the unaccompanied child with sponsors or taking care of their safety and protection once they have been placed?" Rep. Biggs began.

Becerra replied that safety and well-being come first, only for Rep. Biggs to counter with a March 2021 directive from Becerra suggesting the "use of DNA is only used for the purpose of establishing biological relationships for purposes of sponsorship, and it is not submitted to law enforcement personnel or run against law enforcement databases," and the DNA submission from sponsors is voluntary.

"How in the world does that protect the child, the unaccompanied minor, when actually what you are doing, you are saying the parent, whether you submit the DNA, that is voluntary. So you are going to be taking whoever is the sponsor at their word," the Arizona Congressman challenged the Secretary.

Secretary Becerra noted that ORR makes use of multiple techniques to identify unaccompanied children and conduct background checks on sponsors, "including fingerprinting and DNA on occasion."

Biggs emphasized the nature of Becerra's use of "on occasion," asking how ORR can check databases and vet migrant sponsors, pulling up a second March 2021 directive stating that "background check requirements for adult household members and alternative adult caregivers identified in a sponsored care plan are not required as a condition of release under any Category 2."

Becerra continued to insist that background checks are conducted properly. Still, Biggs brought up a report released by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) suggesting UACs were released to MS-13 gang members and potential human traffickers.

"That is how you end up there because the vetting has been crappy. I mean, that is just the bottom line," Biggs concluded.