Officials Say 146,000 Migrant Children Located, 300,000 Still Unaccounted For

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief

(Worthy News) – Federal authorities said Thursday they have accounted for 146,000 unaccompanied migrant children who entered the United States during former President Joe Biden’s administration, while roughly 300,000 minors remain unaccounted for, amid allegations that many vulnerable children were placed with fraudulent sponsors and exposed to abuse, labor exploitation, and sex trafficking.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the findings point to a broader smuggling and sponsorship system that left children vulnerable after they crossed the border, with some minors allegedly ending up in the hands of traffickers, abusers, or fraudulent custodians.

“Oftentimes the children were abused, assaulted, and certainly exploited,” Blanche said. “When government fails to protect our borders, it is the most vulnerable who suffer.”

Officials said a network of “super sponsors” — individuals who sponsor at least three unrelated migrant children — helped fuel the exploitation by using fraudulent documents to claim they were relatives of the minors.

Federal prosecutors announced charges against Guatemalan nationals Maritza Azucena Cahuec Coc, 38, and Carlos Agustin Cahuec Coc, 33, accusing them of participating in a smuggling conspiracy involving more than a dozen children between 2020 and 2023. Both face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Another Guatemalan national, Juan Tiul Xi, 27, pleaded guilty to smuggling a 14-year-old girl into the U.S. using false sponsorship paperwork. Prosecutors said Xi claimed to be the girl’s older brother before sexually assaulting her. He was convicted in state court and is expected to serve more than 10 years in prison.

Acting Office of Refugee Resettlement Director Angie Salazar said some of the located children were found dead, while others were connected to serious crimes. She said federal officials are still reviewing roughly 81,000 addresses tied to children who remain missing from government oversight.

Mullin said the Trump administration is working to correct what officials described as serious failures in vetting sponsors and verifying where children were placed.

“It’s negligent at best and criminal at worst,” Mullin said.

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