By Evaristo Lara
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it allegedly found 146,000 of the 450,000 minors it estimates were introduced into US territory in recent years as immigrants without the corresponding documentation. to guarantee its permanence.
The perception of the DHS is that the majority of these children entered the country through the border with Mexico during the administration led by Democrat Joe Biden.
Although nearly 300,000 minors still need to be found, most of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE), as well as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), continue trying to find out where in the country they were transferred.
From the perspective of Todd Blanche, acting general prosecutor, behind such a high displacement of minors, a criminal network allegedly operatedsince it is ruled out that those who guided the boys acted randomly.
Hence, US authorities continue trying to find those responsible.
“In many cases, these children were mistreated, assaulted and exploited during the cross-border trafficking process by criminals.
Those criminals, who worked with Mexican drug cartels to transport children across the border, often sponsored several migrant children. “They forced them to lie to US government officials, stating that they were close relatives,” the official said at a conference.
The Denver lawyer also pointed out that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is following up on 15,500 cases of alleged sponsors linked to thousands of immigrant minors introduced into the country between 2021 and 2024.
The perception of the authorities is that they may have resorted to presenting fraudulent identity documents and using false statements to government officials aimed at obtaining custody of the minors.
“We will not accept half measures when it comes to securing the border, protecting American lives and saving children from exploitation,” Blanche warned.
Keep reading:
• Three immigrants are accused of operating a network to bring children into the US.
• More than 145,000 children have been separated from their parents due to ICE immigration raids, report reveals
• Trump accelerates deportations of immigrant children in federal custody
