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The Biden administration's decision to suspend DNA testing at the border, a 'misstep' in the fight against child trafficking

Nearly 10% of the minors who crossed into the U.S. in 2022 were accompanied by adults they are not related to. Freelance reporter Anthony Aguero explained to Voz Media how this heartbreaking situation happens on a daily basis.

Crisis fronteriza, Biden, terrorismo

(Cordon Press)

Published by
Verónica Silveri Pazos

Official data highlights the gravity of the child trafficking situation on the southern border. A report from the Government Accountability Office reported that almost 10% of minors who crossed the southern border in 2022 were accompanied by adults they were not related to in any way.

The House of Representatives has openly condemned how many of the children who cross the border are drugged and abused by their kidnappers. Republican Representative Ana Paulina Luna showed the Oversight and Accountability Committee the "horrors" that minors endure with video material recorded by independent reporter Anthony Aguero.

'Children arrive drugged to prevent them from speaking'

Independent reporter Anthony Aguero shared with Voz Media firsthand testimonies that confirm the horror of the child trafficking situation on the southern border and recounted how small children, including some that do not even know how to walk, are drugged by traffickers while they seek to enter the country.

Aguero, who is also the founder of Border Network News and host of "Border Wars," recounted his tough personal experience covering what happens daily on the border. Among the most inconceivable and heartbreaking things he reported is that "migrant girls arrive completely destroyed, before crossing they have been raped by multiple individuals":

One 12-year-old girl had more than 62 different DNA samples on her body ... Another girl who seemed to be no more than 12 years old being raped in the river ... In front of us an individual began to rape the girl while making fun of us. The agent told me we can't do anything, because he was on the Mexican side. When the authorities arrived, the individual had already left ... He finished, grabbed the girl, put her on his shoulder and walked away ... Something that I will never forget.

The reporter pointed the decision made by the Biden administration to eliminate DNA testing for children and the adults that accompany them. He assured that this has been a determining factor in worsening this situation every day, since it leaves Border Patrol unable to carry out relevant tests or detain criminals:

Unfortunately, President Biden's administration removed all the protocols that they had in the previous administration to check whether the children who came with these adults were actually the parents ... They removed the DNA tests ... Then the immigration agents cannot do the checks. Unless the child says this is not my parent openly, the child is left with these individuals.

Law to end child trafficking

In May 2023, the Biden administration decided to end all DNA testing for families arriving at the border. Senator Marsha Blackburn was one of the main critics of the government's decision and assured that "as many as 30% of children DNA tested were found not to be related to the illegal immigrants posing as family members":

The Biden administration’s decision to halt all DNA familial testing is a grave misstep that not only puts the safety of Americans at risk but also increases the number of migrant children being trafficked.

Blackburn last year reintroduced a law, which was originally proposed in 2019, that aims to "end child trafficking." It would require a DNA test to determine the relationship between illegal immigrants crossing the border and the children who accompany them. According to the Republican:

Drug cartels and gangs use minors to falsely present themselves as family units and seek asylum at our southern border. ... My legislation would stop criminals in their tracks and help protect children from exploitation – an idea we should all be able to support.

Republican Senators Bill Hagerty, Thom Tillis, Mike Lee, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Ted Cruz, Joni Ernst, J.D. Vance, Steve Daines, Bill Cassidy and John Hoeven joined in support of the bill. On the other hand, Rep. Lance Gooden presented a companion bill in the House of Representatives. Sen. Hyde-Smith declared:

The Biden administration’s decision to end DNA familial testing ignores due diligence and common sense when it comes to protecting vulnerable children, who are too often being trafficked across the border by sex traffickers, gang members, or other bad actors. This bill would be a step toward strengthening border security and helping children.

Despite multiple attempts, the bill has yet to pass a vote in Congress.

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