Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Becerra about the missing migrant children crisis in Virginia.
Miyares first addressed concerns that the welfare and safety of unaccompanied minors were not being prioritized in a February 29, 2024 letter to President Joe Biden and the Secretary.
The letter called for the Office of Refugee Resettlement (“ORR”) to revise its policies to notify local governments when migrant children are placed in their jurisdictions. According to Miyares, the letter was ignored.
In light of the lack of response, Miyares is demanding more coordination between federal, state and local governments to address the problem.
“The federal government has lost track of 85,000 migrant children. This is unacceptable. Local law enforcement cannot protect and ensure the well-being of children they don’t know exist. No child should be dropped off at a strange home without proper vetting and safeguards to ensure their safety. President Biden is unable to protect American citizens and the unaccompanied minors he welcomes in with his open border policies,” Miyares said.
The letter calls for:
- Revision of ORR unaccompanied minor children policies to include the immediate notification of child placements with local governments;
- Safety status of the existing unaccompanied minors in the state of Virginia; and
- Grant the Office of the Attorney General access to the sponsor data for sponsors in Virginia, along with any possible criminal history, to allow local governments to better protect these children.
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Rebecca Barnabi
