(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Congress heard whistleblower testimony Tuesday about what could be the Biden administration’s biggest scandal to date: What was described as “taxpayer-funded child slavery” being conducted with the government’s full knowledge and tacit consent.
The whistleblowers who testified Tuesday were Florida Department of Children and Families Sec. Shevan Harris; whistleblower Deborah White, who worked in Health and Human Services’ Unaccompanied Child Program; and another HHS whistleblower, Tara Rodas. They testified at a Senate “roundtable” hosted by Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who gave the opening remarks.
Cassidy began by recounting Biden’s decision to overturn Trump-era border policies, such as “remain in Mexico.” Biden also reimposed so-called “catch and release,” and exempted unaccompanied children from Title 42, which allows immigration restrictions in the name of protecting public health.
“The result: predictably, President Biden’s open border policies encouraged the worst rates of illegal immigration ever, including over 500,000 unaccompanied migrant children,” Sen. Cassidy said.
“As the surge continued, ORR staff were directed by their superiors to prioritize speed over safety and limit the amount of information collected when releasing children to sponsors,” he added.
“What are the effects of these failed policies? Children are being released into dangerous environments to be exploited for illegal labor, leading to serious injuries such as dismemberment and shattered bones. Tragically, one child died when he was pulled into a meat-processing machine.”
The whistleblowers offered more details to Cassidy’s already-haunting description of the consequences of Biden’s border policies.
HHS whistleblower White went as far as to say that the Biden administration is sanctioning “taxpayer-funded child slavery.”
Zero Coverage on this today: During a hearing on Capitol Hill today, multiple whistleblowers from various government agencies responsible for unaccompanied migrant children came forward to claim that the US government (HHS), in collaboration with a federal contractor named… pic.twitter.com/YpaLAzY2VZ
— Real News No Bullshit (@NewsNotBs) July 10, 2024
“Make no mistake: Children were not going to their parents. They were being trafficked with billions of taxpayer dollars by a contractor failing to vet sponsors and process children safely—with government officials complicit in it,” White said, referring to government contractor Charokee Federal.
“Cherokee Federal staffed the site with several unqualified unvetted and quite frankly dangerous contractors with access to vulnerable children that did not get the appropriate support, services, or humanity they deserved after a most treacherous journey,” White added.
“I have seen these children, I have interviewed these children and I have stories that will haunt me for the rest of my life. The HHS ORR program is the biggest failure in government history that I have ever witnessed.”
In one case, more than 12 children were linked to one sponsor with multiple houses, she said.
“In Michigan, a child was sent to an open field,” she said.
Florida’s Sec. Harris corroborated the HHS whistleblowers’ testimony. She called the environment created by Biden’s border policies the “perfect breeding ground for predators.”
“We’ve witnessed this firsthand in Florida,” she said.
“We interviewed a young girl who shared that during her journey over the border, people in the group were robbed; several girls, including her, were raped; and she witnessed a decapitation,” she said.
“This is the reality the federal government has created by failing to secure our border.”
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
