The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has unveiled a scathing assessment of the Biden administration's Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) Program, revealing what an insider bluntly labels a "fraud-fueled federal smuggling operation" designed to flood the homeland with unvetted minors. This isn't merely bureaucratic oversight; it's a profound betrayal of public trust and a reckless endangerment of vulnerable children, all while the Biden White House seemingly prioritized speed over security.
A bombshell memo, obtained by The Federalist, details a litany of intentional fraud, with 77 percent of reported Child Level Events (CLEs) stemming from deliberate deception by adult sponsors of UACs. The sheer scale is staggering: 1,669 fraud reports flooded into the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) between October 1, 2023, and October 31, 2024. A review of these reports found a shocking 85 percent involved intentional document fraud, painting a clear picture of systemic abuse.
ORR Senior Advisor John Fabbricatore didn't mince words, revealing during a call with reporters that an astonishing 479,000 UACs have vanished without a trace under the Biden administration’s watch. "This is fraud that should have been caught by the Biden administration easily, but it was not because there was more of a want to get these kids out the door as quick as possible," Fabbricatore stated, highlighting a deliberate policy choice that put children and national security at risk.
He further detailed that 70 percent of minors in ORR's custody are males over the age of 15, many of whom openly admit they have no sponsor in the U.S. and are simply here to work and be released into the country – a clear indicator of the program being exploited for illicit purposes beyond genuine asylum claims.
"The Biden Administration failed in its most basic responsibility: protecting vulnerable children in federal care," declared HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He added, "It weakened safeguards and prioritized speed over scrutiny, leaving children exposed to fraud, exploitation, and abuse. Under President Trump, HHS is restoring rigorous oversight, verifying who takes custody of these children, and putting their safety first." This stark contrast between administrations could not be clearer.
The methods of fraud were varied but consistent: false identity documentation, manipulated photographs, misrepresented addresses, fingerprint fraud, undisclosed household members, and age misrepresentation by the UACs themselves. These aren't minor oversights; they are deliberate attempts to bypass critical safeguards.
But the problem extends far beyond mere paperwork, according to Fabbricatore. He argues that many of these children are, in fact, being smuggled to the border. "A 5-year-old does not walk from El Salvador to the border of Mexico to try to get into the United States," he observed, exposing the dark truth behind the "unaccompanied" label.
The smuggling chain often involves cartels separating families, bringing parents across the border illegally, who then, once in the U.S., request their children from ORR – children also brought by the same cartels. The Biden administration, in a shocking abdication of duty, simply released these children without any vetting whatsoever into the care of individuals who had entered the country illegally. "The United States under the Biden administration was actually acting as a part of the smuggling operation by then meeting that child up with its parents who were illegally in the United States," Fabbricatore powerfully concluded.
And the horror doesn't end there. These children are not always reunited with their true parents, or even legitimate family. Fabbricatore recounted the chilling case of a 15-year-old girl released to a sponsor claiming to be her brother – without ORR taking fingerprints or conducting a DNA test. The tragic consequence? The girl was subsequently raped and impregnated. Another 17-year-old male, released to someone claiming to be his stepsister, was later "found dead in the back seat of a car with his genitalia exposed, along with an unconscious 30-year-old male." These aren't isolated incidents; they are the direct, horrific outcomes of policies that actively undermined child safety.
In stark contrast, the incoming Trump administration is committed to fortifying vetting protocols. This includes mandatory DNA and fingerprint checks, rigorous validation of identification, comprehensive vetting of every individual in a household receiving a UAC, and ensuring sponsors possess the genuine means to support them. A significantly higher level of scrutiny will be applied to photographs and other documents, which were previously easy targets for fraud.
"There’s been this narrative that we’re keeping kids in care and we’re not letting them go. That narrative is partially true. We’re not just letting kids go to people that we can’t verify who they are, or that they might be criminals, or that they’re not the actual parents of the children," Fabbricatore affirmed. "We’re not just going to allow nationals from other countries to come into the United States to people who we can’t verify." This is common sense, and it’s a necessary stand for national security and child welfare.
While the agency also works to return children to their nations of origin, Fabbricatore explained the complex process for UACs, requiring parental identification and coordination with embassy consulates, especially given some countries' reluctance to receive deported aliens. The Biden administration's policies, however, often left the agency no choice but to release UACs into the U.S., perpetuating the cycle of potential exploitation and national security risks.
This isn't just bureaucratic inefficiency; it's a catastrophic failure of national security and human decency, leaving vulnerable children at the mercy of cartels and criminals, all while the Biden administration looked the other way. The incoming Trump administration's commitment to restoring law, order, and rigorous oversight is a desperately needed return to common sense, prioritizing the safety of children and the security of the nation over reckless open-border policies. Americans deserve accountability for this betrayal, and a guarantee that their government will put American security and the welfare of children first.
