WASHINGTON — The Biden administration failed to investigate more than 7,300 reports of human trafficking involving child migrants and tens of thousands of other concerning leads, startling findings from the Department of Health and Human Services released Thursday show.
HHS is poring over 65,605 backlogged reports from the last administration as part of an interagency probe into cases of unaccompanied migrant kids who may have been abused by sex predators or trafficked by gangs like MS-13.
Since launching the investigation in February, the department has processed 18,868 cases — but still has 1,688 of possibly fraudulent sponsors receiving the kids, 7,346 human trafficking reports and another 46,311 other tips from grantees, staff and unaccompanied minors themselves to vet.
So far that’s led to 528 investigative leads, 36 prosecutions taken up by US attorneys’ offices, 25 arrest warrants, 11 arrests, seven indictments and three convictions — with roughly 28% of the backlog worked through under President Trump.
Whistleblowers later came forward to Congress and alleged that many of the kids appear to have fallen into the hands of criminals and sex traffickers.
