Tom Homan says the Trump administration has located more than 62,000 children who went missing after being smuggled into the United States, alleging many were left untracked under the prior administration and rescued from trafficking, forced labor, and abuse.
Border Czar Tom Homan spoke on “Fox and Friends” and described a large-scale recovery effort that he credits to the Trump administration’s priority on finding vulnerable children. His comments framed the issue as a failure of the previous policies, and he repeatedly pointed to dramatic numbers to underline the scale of the problem.
Homan stated a stark assessment of the prior period: “Over half a million children were smuggled into this country under Joe Biden,” Homan said. “They lost track of 300,000. President Trump committed on day one that we will do everything we can to find every one of these children.” He emphasized that the recovery work has been active and relentless since the change in administration.
He offered grim details about what teams discovered while searching for those children, saying many were found in horrific circumstances and needed urgent support. Homan highlighted child exploitation at every turn and suggested the contrast between administrations is one of focus and action versus neglect.
I looked at the numbers the other day, Friday I looked at the numbers. There’s over 62,000 children, found by the Trump administration. Children that weren’t even being looked for under the Biden administration. President Trump saved over 62,000 children’s lives. Some of these children were in sex trafficking, we found them, some were in forced labor, some were being mistreated. I can’t even discuss some of the mistreatment we found out about. President Trump, again, provided why he’s the greatest president in my lifetime. Over 62,000 children rescued by President Trump.
Republicans and whistleblowers have long argued that hundreds of thousands of minors were unaccounted for during the previous administration, with estimates ranging widely. “This is not even possible to believe, 325,000 migrant children are missing, many of whom have been trafficked and raped,” Trump said during a rally last year, a line Homan and others return to when stressing the urgency of the rescues.
Homan did not hold back when assigning blame, saying political leaders who supported open-border policies bear responsibility for the spike in exploitation. “They’re complicit,” Homan said of Democrats. “Four years this has happened: sex trafficking historic highs, children crossing the border historic highs, migrant deaths crossing the border historic highs.” That accusation is central to the case he and allies make for stricter enforcement and accountability.
Supporters point to the recoveries as proof that prioritizing enforcement saves lives and restores basic order to a chaotic situation at the border. “Like or love President Trump, you got to admit, this man has shown every day he’s saving America.” That sentiment captures the partisan chord Homan and others strike when contrasting current efforts with what they call previous inaction.
The reporting and public statements focus on two linked problems: the initial smuggling and the subsequent loss of oversight that allowed exploitation to flourish. Advocates for more stringent policies say the solution combines tougher border controls with targeted rescue operations to find children already in harm’s way, and they emphasize ongoing work to track down missing minors.
Critics will dispute the exact numbers and the political framing, but the core allegation here is simple and stark: thousands of children were unaccounted for, and focused recovery efforts have reached tens of thousands. The debate over how many were lost and why will continue, but the human stories Homan describes — children found in trafficking rings or forced labor — are driving calls for continued enforcement and reform.
That push is part of a broader fight over border policy, oversight, and the responsibilities of federal agencies when minors are involved. For Homan and his allies, the recovery of 62,000 children is evidence that prioritizing the search and prosecution of traffickers matters, while opponents argue about the policies that allowed the crisis to develop in the first place.
