Border czar Tom Homan on Thursday discussed the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to find the hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied minors who were “lost” under the Biden administration.
“It’s just under 25,000 found so far,” Homan told “America Reports” co-host Sandra Smith, revealing the horrific conditions many of these children faced, with 27 of them sadly dying.
"Many were in sex trafficking. Many we found in forced labor—slavery. I mean forced to work ungodly hours, not going to school. And of course not getting paid, being abused. So we rescued thousands of children and President Trump is committed—I’m committed—that we’re not gonna stop looking for these children until we find every single one of them…”
.@RealTomHoman says the Trump Administration has found close to 25,000 unaccompanied minors that were "lost" under Joe Biden:
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 18, 2025
"Many were in sex trafficking. Many were found in forced labor—slavery. I mean forced to work ungodly hours, not going to school." pic.twitter.com/sujtf7PALh
Testifying during a Senate subcommittee hearing on Thursday, Chris Clem, retired Chief Patrol Agent and former senior adviser at Health and Human Services, echoed Homan's remarks, explaining that the safest point on a minor's journey was when they were in Border Patrol's care.
He detailed how the emphasis in the Biden administration, faced with about 479,000 unaccompanied alien children, was on quickly placing children rather than on ensuring their safety. For instance, in 2021, the Office of Refugee Resettlement relaxed its sponsor vetting by removing biometric background check requirements, he said.
I also observed that if sponsor applications met the minimum requirements or appeared to “make an effort” it was generally acceptable. The follow up and verification and vetting process of sponsors was abysmal. I recall one case where a home site visit was conducted to assess the environment for the placement of a teen. The location was in Illinois and the site visit concluded with a Do Not Place based on the alleged mother’s gang affiliation, numerous unrelated adults, andgeneral unsafe environment. The decision was overruled. The child, who was 17 was found dead a few months later, with his pants down, with an adult male who was unconscious, in the back seat of the car. The question remains, why did we place this child? Additionally, there was a case involving a fraudulent sponsor who claimed to be the adult brother of a 14-year-old female. The documents used were fraudulent, no family verification such as biometrics, fingerprints, however the 14-year-old was placed with a 30-year-old male. The child was raped multiple times and became pregnant. The DOJ under Biden refused to prosecute the case, but fortunately the State of Ohio detained the subject, and the current DOJ filed federal charges, and received an indictment by a Grand Jury. There are countless heinous crimes involving UACs that have resulted from the practices at ORR. It was my opportunity to fix that.
Chris Clem @CClemOfficial Exposes Heinous Crimes Against Kids during Subcommittee Hearing on Border Security and Immigration pic.twitter.com/qgMZfG3dr8
— The American Border Story (@TABSReport) September 17, 2025