(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) Continuing their pattern of ignoring real issues, the Government Accountability Office caught the Biden administration disregarding warnings about heightened rates of child trafficking through the southern border and exploited for cheap labor.
According to the Daily Caller, officials both in and out of the federal government made several attempts to tell the Department of Health and Human Services about the risk of exploitation for migrant children.
Those warnings went unheeded, and recently the Department of Labor opened an investigation into child labor at American snack factories.
“It’s unacceptable that companies are using child labor, and this administration will continue working to strengthen the system to investigate these violations and hold violators accountable,” Robyn M. Patterson, a White House spokeswoman, said.
Statistics from the border patrol show that more than 250,000 unaccompanied migrant children traveled across the border since Biden took office.
Several government officials working in shelters, including Linda Brandmiller, attempted to contact higher-ups about the problem. After her attempts, Brandmiller lost her job at the shelter where she worked and banned from entering the building.
A recent report from the GAO discovered that, despite their knowledge and resources, the State Department is also neglecting the issue.
The State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, also known as TIP, has not set any “measurable goals,” or introduced “plans to sustain ongoing efforts.”
“Without information on partner government contributions and sustainability measures, the TIP Office lacks knowledge on partner country contributions and plans to sustain progress under the CPCs,” the report read.
The GAO made several recommendations as to how the department can improve its efforts to stop child exploitation, which the state department agreed to enact.
The Biden administration has been roundly apathetic in their response to the border crisis. With the lifting of Title 42 approaching, border agents were simply told to “brace for f***ing impact” and deal with the consequences.
