Tim Ballard, the former agent who inspired the movie Sound of Freedom, made an appearance in Congress on Wednesday. The founder of Operation Underground Railroad (OUR) testified Wednesday before the House Homeland Security Committee, where he asked the Biden Administration to find the 85,000 missing children.
Ballard arrived on Capitol Hill wearing a black suit, sat in his chair and proceeded to testify before the aforementioned committee, chaired by Congressman Mark Green (R-TN). The hearing in question was part of one of five that are scheduled to discuss the current state of border security.
"It's more difficult to adopt a cat from a shelter in the United States than it is to go down and take one of these children out of the custody of [the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services] and claim that I’m the sponsor", he began.
Tim Ballard: "We need to start enforcing the laws that Congress put up on the executive branch, which is to enforce the border. That's the most compassionate and it's the only compassionate policy for children…”pic.twitter.com/OuxbshPGst
— American.357 (@ASimplePatriot) September 13, 2023
Then, he threw the first punch at the government headed by Joe Biden. "This must stop. We must begin with finding the 85,000 missing unaccompanied children, which this administration claims is not their problem anymore", he added.
Repeating some phrases that were heard in the film, the former agent delved into the problem of child trafficking in front of legislators. Even a fragment of the film that popularized the story worldwide was screened.
"A child can be sold up to 20 times per day, six days a week for ten years or even longer if they are trafficked as a toddler or infant. In one case in particular, a young woman was brought across the border at an area where no barriers or protections existed. Her captors brought her to New York City where once in the U.S., she was sold and raped for money up to 30-40 times a day for five years before eventually escaping".
🚨 Declaración inicial de Tim Ballard durante la audiencia sobre la crisis fronteriza de Biden: "Un niño puede ser vendido hasta 20 veces al día, seis días a la semana durante 10 años o incluso más".pic.twitter.com/rLHlSlNytq
— Emmanuel Rincón (@EmmaRincon) September 13, 2023
In turn, he asked the president to toughen immigration policies, particularly at the southern border. "There's no background checks. There's no fingerprinting. Why would you afford a foreign child much less protection than you would an American child? I think it's despicable," he continued.
Ballard was referring specifically to the DNA collection program for migrant families, which verifies their identities and makes sure they are actually related. The measure was implemented by Donald Trump but reversed by Biden shortly after he began his presidency.
"DNA testing is intended to prevent fraudulent claims by migrants who attempt to claim to be part of a family unit when they arrive at the southern border. Authorities cannot detain migrant families for longer than 20 days because of U.S. immigration laws, resulting in migrants’ release before their asylum claims can be adjudicated. This practice, which is typically referred to as “catch and release,” has prompted many migrants to bring unrelated children and infants along with them on the dangerous journey to the border," The Daily Caller reported in 2019.
