Whereabouts of nearly 1,500 undocumented children are reportedly unknown
A bipartisan group of senators have introduced a bill designed to ensure that the Department of Health and Human Services takes full responsibility for, and keeps better track of, unaccompanied children who come to the border seeking entry to the United States and then are placed with U.S. sponsors.
The legislation follows a new report that revealed that the government could not determine the whereabouts of nearly 1,500 children that HHS had placed with sponsors this year.
The bill, introduced Tuesday by Republican Sens. James Lankford of Oklahoma and Rob Portman of Ohio and Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Thomas R. Carper of Delaware, would require HHS to notify state governments before placing a child in a state with a sponsor and would increase the number of immigration court judges to help the Justice Department reduce the immigration case backlog.
View the complete September 21 article by Camila DeChalus on the Roll Call website here.