American Thought Leaders — Whistleblowers reveal the reality of child trafficking and what Trump could do about it. Jan Jekielek and Cindy Drukier host a joint NTD Roundtable event (12/03/24, podcast/video 1:03:13)
Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/p…
Video (click image at bottom of this note; includes transcript, may require subscription):
Guests:
Tara Rodas, HHS whistleblower and 20-year public servant, primarily working in the federal inspector general community
Aaron Stevenson, DHS whistleblower and former intelligence research specialist for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Mary Flynn O’Neill, executive director of the America’s Future nonprofit
America has an unprecedented child trafficking crisis, with large numbers of unaccompanied migrant children being released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to largely unvetted sponsors.
Key takeaways:
Many migrant children work backbreaking shifts in slaughterhouses, restaurants, or factories. Others are being sold for sex.
Many sponsors are associated with dangerous criminal organizations like MS-13 and the 18th Street gang.
Between 2019 to 2023, more than 448,000 unaccompanied minors were transferred from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody to the HHS.
ICE cannot account for more than 32,000 unaccompanied children who failed to appear for court hearings. Another 291,000 unaccompanied children simply did not receive notices at all. Where are they?
In this discussion with three people who have been at the forefront of exposing child trafficking and demanding policy change, the panel explores:
How many children in America have fallen victim to trafficking?
To what extent are international actors and non-governmental organizations (including faith-based groups) facilitating this?
Why won’t our government share information (which they have) about the missing children?
What can the Trump administration do to stem child trafficking?
What challenges must they tackle?
Proposed solutions include:
Find the missing children (including illegal immigrant kids AND American children), help the kids, go after the criminals.
Declare child traffickers as terrorist organizations so those with expertise in dealing with terrorists can successfully track down the criminals and the missing children (almost half-a million currently).
Have concerned citizens take a training seminar from America’s Future so they can learn to help the kids, who (if they survive and are found) will be severely damaged.
