WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and co-chair of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, today questioned witnesses at a Senate Judiciary hearing examining the Biden administration’s failure to ensure the safety of unaccompanied children who have entered the United States under the president’s open border policies. Citing some of the data he collected through outreach to Iowa’s 99 county sheriffs, Grassley urged witnesses to address reports of cartel activity around Iowa’s major highways, I-35 and I-80. Grassley is pushing federal agencies to strengthen their response to drug and human trafficking cartel operations in the United States.
“You’re dealing with a life or death situation by not enforcing the law [at the border],” Grassley reminded hearing witnesses. “The Constitution says the laws should be faithfully executed, and they aren’t being.”
Video and a transcript of Grassley’s questions are below.
Cartel Activity along Iowa’s I-35 and I-80
Under [President] Biden’s leadership, family unit housing centers were shut down, illegal immigrants were electronically tracked instead of being detained and children became tools for criminals to avoid detention. Congress has demanded for answers and we’ve been met with silence, delay, or—worse yet—the flat out refusal to take responsibility… This isn’t just a situation that affects the federal government and a few states at the border. The failures that I’ve talked about at the federal level have created problems for us even in Iowa, at the state and local level. Worse yet, the federal government has failed these kids.
So, in August I wrote to Iowa’s law enforcement, primarily the 99 county sheriffs. They told me the cartels didn’t just traffic humans and drugs at the border. The cartels have a presence in communities across the United States, and are particularly active along the major highways. In Iowa, we have the Sinaloa and the CJNG cartels now in the counties of Greene, Story, Marshall and Polk counties, right at the heart where I-35 meets I-80. Those two highways cut across the United States. This problem is not unique to Iowa. These cartels are active in many states across the country.
To Director Morant, what steps has Homeland Security Investigations taken to combat cartels in the interior of our nation, and what tools would be helpful in rooting them out? Can you provide a detailed plan to Congress by the end of the year to accomplish this?
Efforts to Recover the 85,000 Children Lost by the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS)
The New York Times reported back in February that over at least the last two years, HHS could not reach more than 85,000 children it placed to sponsors.
How many of the 85,000 missing children has Homeland Security Investigations and its law enforcement partners been able to track down?
Addressing Abuse and Neglect of Unaccompanied Children
Last Friday, I received an HHS response to a letter that I sent back in December. The response mentions that the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) recognizes the importance of notifying local authorities when abuse and neglect of unaccompanied children is suspected or uncovered.
Director Dunn Marcos, how many times did ORR and its third parties notify state and local authorities with concerns about possible child abuse or neglect?
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