During a congressional hearing on Capitol Hill, retired Border Patrol agent J.J. Carrell made a shocking claim that the U.S. federal government has become the “world’s largest child sex trafficking organization in modern history.” The assertion was made during a joint hearing by the Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability under the House Homeland Security Committee.
Carrell, who served 24 years in the Border Patrol and retired as a deputy patrol agent in charge of the San Diego Sector, stated:
“I state with complete certainty that [President Joe] Biden, [Vice President Kamala] Harris, and [Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro] Mayorkas intentionally, strategically, and purposely weaponized illegal immigration and use it as a tool to fundamentally transform America.”
Carrell emphasized that child trafficking, particularly child sex trafficking, has flourished under current immigration policies, calling it an “unspoken evil” within the broader crisis.
A key issue raised during the hearing was the alarming number of unaccompanied migrant children whose whereabouts are unknown. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported in August that over 300,000 migrant children were unaccounted for. Between fiscal years 2019 and 2023, 32,000 minors failed to appear for immigration court hearings, while another 291,000 were never assigned a court date.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), responsible for placing unaccompanied minors with sponsors, has faced criticism for its inability to ensure these children’s safety. Whistleblowers and experts pointed out that the system is easily exploited by human traffickers, leaving minors vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.
Tara Rodas, a former HHS official, testified during the hearing, describing the flaws in the system. According to Rodas, many sponsors who take custody of these children are not thoroughly vetted.
“The names of the sponsors are run through the National Crime Information Center, but that’s not enough,” she explained. “A sponsor can be a distant relative or have no relation to the child, opening the door for traffickers to exploit the system.”
Rodas recounted a chilling incident where she was informed of children as young as 8 contracting sexually transmitted diseases due to abuse by sponsors.
“Migrant children are working overnight shifts in slaughterhouses and factories. Some may die today because they lack the skills or knowledge to perform these dangerous jobs,” Rodas said. “They’re forced to work to repay debts to smugglers and traffickers.”
She accused the government of operating a “white glove delivery system” that inadvertently places children in the hands of criminal organizations like MS-13, the 18th Street Gang, and Russian crime syndicates.
Rodas highlighted the structural weaknesses within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), noting that it is not a law enforcement or investigative agency.
“HHS doesn’t have the knowledge, skills, or ability to protect children from traffickers. This is a highly sophisticated operation, mirroring the tactics of terrorist organizations,” Rodas explained.
The department’s 10-year track record of losing children to abusive sponsors underscores the urgent need for reform.
To address these systemic failures, Rodas and Carrell proposed several solutions to combat child trafficking and exploitation:
- DNA Testing for Sponsors: Sponsors claiming to be related to the child should undergo mandatory DNA testing to verify their relationship.
- Criminal Accountability: Sponsors unable to produce the child placed in their custody should face prison time.
- Intelligence and Law Enforcement: Elevate child trafficking as a national security issue by mobilizing intelligence and law enforcement agencies to dismantle trafficking networks.
- Legislative Action: Treat child trafficking as a form of terrorism under the National Intelligence Priorities Framework.
“We cannot be a nation that looks the other way,” Rodas urged. “We have a moral imperative to protect the children the government takes into custody. The time to act is now.”
The testimonies provided during the hearing have brought the failures of U.S. immigration and child welfare systems into sharp focus. Critics of the Biden administration argue that lax border policies and insufficient oversight have exacerbated the crisis, while supporters maintain that the system was already overwhelmed and broken before current policies took effect.
Regardless of political perspective, the facts presented are alarming: thousands of vulnerable children have fallen through the cracks, many exploited in unthinkable ways. With calls for urgent reforms growing louder, lawmakers face mounting pressure to address the systemic failures that enable child trafficking and exploitation.
The hearing serves as a wake-up call for the nation, highlighting the need for immediate action to protect migrant children and uphold America’s moral responsibility to safeguard its most vulnerable population.
