The same day that Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra faced criticism on Capitol Hill from members of both parties about reports of underage migrants working dangerous jobs, Labor Department officials announced a 44% increase in the number of children it found to be employed illegally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During a hearing Wednesday on immigrant child labor, Rep. Anna Eshoo, D.-Calif, told Becerra that she was not satisfied with his agency\u2019s response to questions she and 25 other House members had sent him in late May. After reports of child labor surfaced, they sent Becerra a letter asking about how carefully HHS\u2019s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which finds homes for unaccompanied migrant minors, was vetting the sponsors who were offering to host the children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf ORR is \u2018meeting and exceeding its statutory requirements,\u2019 why are we witnessing such an alarming rise in the exploitation of children discharged from the agency\u2019s custody?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Becerra acknowledged during the hearing of the oversight subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee that the reports of child labor are \u201creal\u201d and \u201crepulsive\u201d and acknowledged that unaccompanied minors are uniquely vulnerable to dangerous jobs, but also pushed back. He said the agency\u2019s vetting of sponsors remains thorough and agency oversight legally ends once children leave ORR\u2019s care and are placed with a sponsor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra testifies during House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra.Tom Williams \/ CQ Roll Call via AP file
\u201cOnce we release that child into the hands of a vetted sponsor we lose that custodial responsibility,\u201d Becerra told the committee. \u201cIf Congress wants to give us more responsibility to watch over these kids even after they have been assigned to a sponsor, please go right ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than 260,000 unaccompanied migrant children have passed through ORR and been released to communities in 2021 and 2022, according to HHS figures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In response to criticism, HHS announced a new accountability team in June for \u201cassessing and addressing potential child exploitation risks\u201d with the unaccompanied children program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n