(José Niño, Headline USA) More than 11,000 migrant children were placed with adults who didn’t undergo background checks, according to new Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) data Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa showcased in a press statement published on Monday.
Grassley previously sent a letter to HHS inquiring about the status of these child migrants.
HHS data provided in the letter reveals significant gaps in sponsor vetting and home study procedures for migrant children.
Out of more than 100,000 migrant children sent to live with adults who weren’t their parents between 2021 and 2025, thousands of those adults were not properly checked out by the government:
- In 5,660 cases (about 1 out of every 18 placements), no one bothered to do a fingerprint check or a background check on the adult taking in the child.
- In 4,661 cases, the sponsor didn’t get a fingerprint check at all.
- In 1,083 cases, there was no background check done.
- Most alarming: in 84 cases, the adult got neither a fingerprint check nor any type of background check.
Looking at the youngest and most vulnerable group—children under 12—the situation is even worse. Out of 86,214 kids in this age group placed with sponsors, only about 8% had their new home checked out in advance. In other words, more than 9 out of 10 kids under 12—specifically, 79,143 children—were sent off to unfamiliar homes without anyone making sure those homes were safe places to live.
Grassley says that when he asked for this information during the Biden administration, his requests were ignored. The Trump administration, however, provided the data and explained what steps they were trying to take to fix the situation in the Unaccompanied Children (UC) program. To address the aforementioned failures, HHS announced it launched a new program in February 2025 to coordinate with other agencies and law enforcement to flag and act on suspected fraud, exploitation, and trafficking.
In his statement, Grassley said, “My oversight continues to expose disturbing evidence that the Biden-Harris administration turned a blind eye to tens of thousands of kids who needed proper supervision and care. It’s appalling to prioritize speed and optics over the safety and wellbeing of children.”
As Headline USA has previously covered, Grassley has been a staunch advocate for stronger protections for migrant children.
During the previous Congress, Grassley warned that weak checks and poor communication among agencies meant some kids were sent to dangerous homes or simply disappeared from the system.
A recent report from the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General backed up Grassley’s concerns, confirming that the Biden administration lost track of hundreds of thousands of migrant children, often placed kids with risky adults, and limited the ability of the government to cooperate with law enforcement.
It also found that over 65,000 reports involving migrant children, including more than 7,300 human trafficking claims, were ignored or dismissed.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
