Biden Administration Hotline Misses 65,000 Calls for Unaccompanied Migrant Children

During a recent House Committee on Homeland Security hearing, Ali Hopper, president of GUARD Against Trafficking, revealed that a hotline established under the Biden administration to protect unaccompanied migrant children failed to answer 65,000 calls between August 2023 and January 2025. These unanswered calls included reports ranging from minor complaints to serious allegations of sexual abuse, such as a child reporting men entering his room at night; this case was only addressed after the Biden administration reviewed past calls and intervened. Hopper also criticized the limited welfare checks post-placement, noting that if sponsors did not answer two phone calls, cases were dropped, contributing to the mismanagement of child safety. The hearing highlighted broader failures, with federal agencies and NGOs accused of being compromised by criminal networks, leading to at least 300,000 migrant children being unaccounted for after placement with sponsors. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have since initiated child welfare investigations, uncovering sponsors involved in child sexual abuse material, forced labor, and neglect. ICE emphasized ongoing efforts to protect vulnerable children and hold abusers accountable, acknowledging prior systemic failures that allowed exploitation of migrant minors.