A top Biden administration official told lawmakers last June that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) isn’t inquiring about the criminal histories of migrant teens in its care, according to newly released testimony exclusively obtained by The Post.
Robin Dunn Marcos, a senior HHS official overseeing the program for solo child migrants, told the House Judiciary Committee that even though agency officials contact the consulate or embassy of whichever country unaccompanied alien children (UACs) hail from, they do not request any criminal records, according to a copy of her June 8, 2023, testimony.
“Earlier you mentioned that [the Office of Refugee Resettlement] contacts the UAC consulate and the UAC’s home country to verify date of birth, birth certificate of the UAC, and whether the UAC is suspected of being an adult in those types of contexts,” a committee staff member said before asking Marcos: “What else does ORR verify with consulates? What other type of information?”
In recent years, the number of minors coming across the border alone has skyrocketed. Along with that surge has come enhanced scrutiny on the vetting done by HHS when releasing youngsters to sponsors within the US.
More than 8 million migrants have entered the US along the southern border since President Biden took office in January 2021, according to Customs and Border Protection data.
Of those, more than 400,000 have been released into the US to live with vetted sponsors, a June 3 statement from ORR shows.
