In this video, Patrick Bet David exposes the shocking fact that over 300,000 unaccompanied migrant children have disappeared under the watch of US immigration authorities.
In 2008, only 8,000 children were apprehended at the border. By 2022, that number skyrocketed to 149,000 in a single year.
Where are these children now? Who is responsible for their disappearance? And how can we solve this crisis before it’s too late?
Subscribe to Valuetainment for more deep dives, explainers, and motivational videos from PBD!
Unaccompanied Alien Children (UACs), with an average age of 11 years old, have entered the country alone and have subsequently vanished from government tracking systems. This raises urgent questions about their safety, potential exploitation, and the failure of federal agencies to protect them.
A Shocking Surge in Numbers
The number of unaccompanied migrant children apprehended has skyrocketed in recent years:
- 2008 (George W. Bush’s second term) – Only 8,041 UACs were apprehended.
- 2022 (Biden administration) – The number ballooned to 149,000 in a single year.
- Ongoing trend – Over 100,000 migrant children continue to enter the U.S. annually.
Originally, most of these children were from Mexico (82% in 2009), but today, only 19% come from there. The majority now arrive from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.
Where Are These Children Going?
Investigations have revealed alarming failures in the system:
- 32,000 children have failed to appear for their immigration court dates.
- 291,000 children were not placed in formal removal proceedings, making them completely untrackable.
- 85,000 UACs have disappeared entirely, with no follow-up on their welfare.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), under HHS, is responsible for placing these children with sponsors, typically family members. However, two-thirds of these children are placed with individuals who are not direct family members—raising concerns about potential trafficking and exploitation.
Are Migrant Children Being Exploited?
During a Senate hearing, Josh Hawley grilled Robin Dunn Marcos, the head of ORR, over their lack of oversight. The discussion revealed that:
- Many of these children are being forced into illegal labor:
- Scrubbing dishes
- Operating heavy machinery
- Delivering food
- Harvesting coffee
- Working overnight shifts
- Some are also falling victim to human trafficking.
- Despite these reports, the government’s response remains inadequate, with ORR merely offering “Know Your Rights” presentations to children before releasing them.
Dr. Phil and border security experts, like Tom Homan, have emphasized that human trafficking networks are exploiting these children for labor and sexual exploitation.
Who Is Responsible?
The crisis is marked by a lack of coordination between multiple agencies:
- Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
- Health and Human Services (HHS)
- Department of Justice (DOJ)
The problem? No single agency is fully accountable. ICE lacks an automated system to track children, relying instead on email, spreadsheets, and outdated databases.
Shockingly, only one of eight ICE field officers surveyed even attempted to locate missing UACs.
Political Reactions & Public Outrage
The missing children crisis has sparked intense debate:
- Fox News host Harris Faulkner reported that up to 300,000 children were missing, drawing widespread attention.
- Senator Marsha Blackburn criticized the Biden administration, stating that tens of thousands of migrant children have been abandoned by the system.
- Fact-checkers have attempted to downplay the numbers, arguing that many of these children are “administratively missing” rather than physically lost.
However, government reports confirm the staggering scale of the problem, with officials acknowledging their inability to track thousands of children.
A Failing System – What Happens Next?
Despite growing awareness, the government has failed to introduce meaningful reforms. A new tracking system was promised by December 2024, but there is no evidence of its implementation.
With hundreds of thousands of children at risk, concerned parents and communities are now demanding action. Many argue that law enforcement should have more authority to investigate missing children and that immigration agencies need to implement a centralized tracking system.
Until then, 300,000 migrant children remain unaccounted for—a humanitarian crisis that continues to unfold in the shadows.
These concerning stats raise critical questions about the fate of missing migrant children and whether government agencies are truly protecting them. As the crisis deepens, it is crucial to hold officials accountable and push for real solutions to prevent further exploitation.
Add comment