A new report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has raised serious concerns about how the Biden administration has handled the placement of migrant children. According to the report, thousands of children were placed with unvetted sponsors, often in violation of established protocols meant to protect their safety.
The findings, released by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, revealed that over 11,000 migrant children were placed with adults who were neither their parents nor legal guardians. The report also noted that HHS failed to carry out home studies for more than 79,000 children under the age of 12. Critics say this oversight left minors at greater risk of exploitation and abuse.
Earlier this year, another report showed that the Biden-Harris administration dismissed more than 56,000 notifications of concern, including over 7,000 reports of human trafficking and nearly 1,700 cases of suspected fraud. These warnings, according to lawmakers, were ignored despite clear evidence of risks to children.
By law, the Department of Homeland Security is required to transfer unaccompanied migrant children into the custody of HHS, where they must remain until a safe and vetted sponsor is identified. However, investigators found that many children were placed in unsafe conditions. The Office of Inspector General further confirmed that since 2021, more than 500,000 unaccompanied minors crossed the U.S.-Mexico border, with many falling victim to cartel trafficking operations. Alarmingly, over 233,000 children were never even enrolled in immigration proceedings, increasing their vulnerability.
John Fabbricatore, a senior adviser at the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement, described some of the cases as horrific. He said children were being forced into debt bondage, used as sexual slaves, and in some cases, pushed into deadly environments. According to him, dozens of minors have died, either through murder, suicide, or drug overdoses. He stressed that these failures represent not just policy gaps but life-threatening negligence.
The debate over immigration policy has intensified in recent years, with Biden reversing nearly 300 immigration-related executive orders from the Trump administration during his first year in office. This included undoing several border security measures. Critics argue that these reversals contributed to a historic surge in illegal border crossings, which peaked at over 301,000 in December 2023 and totaled more than 8.3 million by late 2024.
In response to growing pressure, Biden signed a border security proclamation in June 2024 to temporarily limit crossings at the southern border. While the order reduced apprehensions, numbers still remained above historical averages. On the other hand, under Trump’s new immigration push, the Department of Homeland Security reported only 24,360 encounters at the border as of August 2025 — the lowest in recent history.
The report has fueled fresh political battles in Washington, with Republicans blaming Biden for endangering children and Democrats accusing Trump’s deportation campaign of separating families and cutting off vital workers. As the immigration debate continues, the safety and future of migrant children remain a central and urgent concern.