• The Biden administration left behind a staggering backlog of migrant child cases, and new data reveals DHS has failed to locate more than 75% of high-risk unaccompanied alien children. Trump’s return is already slashing arrivals and restoring accountability.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (TDR) — The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has located fewer than 25% of the illegal immigrant children it attempted to trace after placing them with adult sponsors — a failure that lays bare what Inspector General Joseph Cuffari described as a system “overwhelmed” by the Biden administration’s lax border enforcement policies.

More than 300,000 unaccompanied alien children (UACs) were flagged as potentially at risk, and 50,000 were prioritized for urgent investigation. Those cases typically involved a single address sponsoring multiple children — a red flag for trafficking. Yet DHS agents located just 12,000 of those children, Cuffari told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee last week.

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Agents made about 400 arrests of adult sponsors, but Cuffari stressed that many cases remain unresolved. His numbers were based on internal DHS briefings.

Backlog and Biden’s Legacy

Newly released DHS data also show a backlog of 65,000 tips dating from the Biden administration regarding potential problems with UAC sponsors. Of those, 59,000 tips have now been processed, leading to over 4,000 investigative leads.

“By leaving our borders open and even encouraging people to come here illegally, Biden enabled the largest human trafficking operation in modern history,” said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. “We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to eradicate human trafficking operations targeting the United States.”

Republican lawmakers described the findings as both devastating and predictable. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., who chaired the hearing, called UAC cases “some kind of horror,” pointing to reports of child abuse and older teens contributing to criminal surges during the Biden era.

“The sheer volume of cases enabled the prior administration’s open border policies to simply overwhelm the system,” Higgins said.

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When asked if DHS under Biden was able to vet sponsors for criminal or gang affiliation, Cuffari replied, “No, they were prohibited from doing so.”

“Crazy,” responded Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C.

Trump’s Return: Rapid Decline in UAC Arrivals

While the Trump administration has yet to locate all lost children, its greatest success has been slashing the rate of unaccompanied child arrivals. Between January 2021 and December 2024, during Biden’s presidency, nearly 550,000 UACs entered the country — an average of 11,500 per month.

Under President Trump, that number has plummeted to just 800 per month. As a result, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) now holds just 2,117 children, down from 4,700 on Inauguration Day and 22,557 in April 2021.

Fewer arrivals mean better sponsor vetting, reducing the likelihood of children falling into the wrong hands.

Renting and Trafficking Children

Cuffari’s report highlights another underreported horror: children being rented or sold to adults seeking to pose as family units — a tactic used to receive leniency at the border.

The Trump administration’s first term implemented DNA testing to expose such fraud. Biden officials curtailed that practice. From September 2021 to September 2024, 2.7 million migrants claimed family unit status — yet just 0.01% underwent DNA testing.

Even that minuscule sample revealed that over 14% were not biologically related.

In contrast, in June 2025, just 278 family units were intercepted — down from 103,000 in September 2023, the worst month on record.

Democratic Pushback and Political Rhetoric

Democrats avoided defending Biden’s performance but sought to shift focus to Trump-era policies.

Rep. Lateefah Simon, D-Calif., accused the former president of denying legal counsel to juvenile migrants and forcing toddlers to represent themselves in court.

“We are not this cruel,” Simon said, decrying what she called “heinous” detention conditions.

Meanwhile, Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., launched a personal attack on Cuffari, accusing him of bias due to a 2023 watchdog report that found fault with his internal investigations.

“We have a corrupt and incompetent inspector general at DHS,” she said.

Is this humanitarian crisis the legacy of compassionate border policy — or a cautionary tale of willful neglect?

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