Milwaukee City Wire

On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) joined U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and 42 bicameral Republican colleagues in a letter urging President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to work with Congress to address abuses in the administration’s unaccompanied migrant children program and stop the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)’s alleged cover-up of the crisis. HHS has not complied with two out of three Department of Homeland Security (DHS) subpoenas and other information requests issued during its investigation into more than 100 suspicious sponsors.

Under the Biden-Harris administration, over 500,000 unaccompanied migrant children have crossed the southwest border without a parent or guardian. During this period, cartel trafficking activity surged an estimated 2,500 percent from the Trump administration to mid-2022 under Biden-Harris. The lawmakers noted that the administration limited background checks for sponsors of unaccompanied children, reduced familial DNA testing at the border, and decreased information sharing with law enforcement.

The lawmakers urged Biden and Harris to “make changes to [their] policies and procedures for UACs” to “end this public safety crisis.” They specifically called on the administration to enhance information sharing with law enforcement and Congress, fully cooperate with DHS’s child exploitation investigation, and respond thoroughly to all congressional oversight requests.

“[The Biden-Harris HHS] must stop its cover-up and cooperate with law enforcement and Congress to end this crisis and protect unaccompanied children and the American people,” wrote the lawmakers.

Sens. Johnson and Grassley were joined by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), John Kennedy (R-La.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Roger Marshall(R-Kans.), Tommy Tuberville(R-Ala.), Markwayne Mullin(R-Okla.) Katie Britt(R-Ala.) Pete Ricketts(R-Neb.).

Additional co-signers in the House include House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan(R-Ohio), along with Reps. Tom McClintock(R-Ca.) Matt Gaetz(R-Fla.) Andy Biggs(R-Ariz.) Chip Roy(R-Texas) Dan Bishop(R-N.C.) Scott Fitzgerald(R-Wis.) Cliff Bentz(R-Ore.) Ben Cline(R-Va.) Barry Moore(R-Ala.) Russell Fry(S.C.). Harriet Hageman(Wyo.). Wesley Hunt(Texas). Laurel Lee(Fla.). Michael Rulli(Ohio).

Full text of the letter can be found here.

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