The number of minors involved in the flow of undocumented immigrants across the southern frontier of the United States is perhaps the most shocking aspect of the situation. In fact, it appears that a significant number of infants are lost once they enter the United States.

The current administration denies any misconduct in relation to the treatment of these minors.

Susan Rice, who departed her position as adviser on domestic policy this week, responded to a report in The New York Times that her staff was shown evidence of a growing migrant child labor crisis.

“We were never informed of any kind of systematic problem with child labor or migrant child labor,” she said.

Fox News reports that at a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on Wednesday, a whistleblower will warn legislators that the United States has become the “middleman” in a multibillion-dollar migrant child trafficking operation at the border.

The hearing, “The Biden Border Crisis: Exploitation of Unaccompanied Alien Children,” will be held by the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement and will examine the surge in unaccompanied children (UACs) at the southern border.

According to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) statistics, the number of UACs who arrive at the border has swelled from 33,239 in fiscal year 2020 to more than 146,000 in fiscal year 2021 and 152,000 in fiscal year 2022. So far in fiscal year 2023, there have been more than 70,000 encounters of unaccompanied children.

When child migrants are encountered at the border, they are transferred into the custody of Health and Human Services (HHS) and then united with a sponsor – typically a parent or family member already in the U.S.

But the Biden administration has been rocked by a number of reports that officials have been unable to make contact with more than 85,000 child migrants; and more recently, administration officials reportedly ignored signs of “explosive” growth in child labor. A number have been forced into indentured servitude to pay back smugglers and have worked in dire conditions.

Fox notes that three witnesses will testify at the Wednesday hearing: Tara Lee Rodas, a former HHS whistleblower and inspector general’s office employee; Sheena Rodriguez, founder and president of Alliance for a Safe Texas; and Jessica Vaughn, director of Policy Studies at the Center for Immigration Studies.

According to a copy of her written testimony obtained by Fox News Digital, Rodas will provide some context and warn of a problem that predates the administration but has grown substantially during the recent migrant crisis.

“Today, children will work overnight shifts at slaughterhouses, factories, restaurants to pay their debts to smugglers and traffickers. Today, children will be sold for sex,” she will say. “Today, children will call a hotline to report they are being abused, neglected, and trafficked. For nearly a decade, unaccompanied children have been suffering in the shadows.”

More on this story via The Republic Brief:

Rodas will also talk about her volunteering efforts at an emergency intake site in California. CONTINUE READING…