Federal prosecutors filed charges against a man they claim brought in a child illegally expat into their country on Monday, bringing allegations that President Biden has a more permissive policy toward illegal immigrant children.
Officials say Natividad Aguilera Garcia, 37, smuggled at least three improper refugees, including two of them who were adolescents. One, identified in the federal prosecution as Minor A, was later used for baby sex.
According to the indictment, Mr. Garcia lied to the federal government by claiming to be the child’s uncle and presented a fake birth certificate to support his claim. The Biden government’s Office of Refugee Resettlement turned the baby over to him based on that false relationship.
According to the prosecution, Mr. Garcia spearheaded the program in May 2021, just as the Biden administration slammed the door for a disaster of unlawful immigrant children and slashed the checks being conducted to enlist partners in order to obtain custody of them.
Even though the indictment stated that Mr. Garcia was sharing pornographic images of Minor A in May 2021, or months before he fabricated his relationship in the summer and fall to take custody of the child, it was n’t immediately clear from the court documents how Mr. Garcia connected with the victim and the other illegal immigrants.
One count of making a false statement to the government, one matter of presenting a false report, one count of enticing a infantile for gender, one count of enticing a infantile for sex, one matter of causing a juvenile to be transported for gender, one count of encouraging illegal entry, and one count of making a false statement in federal court in the Eastern District of Kentucky are brought against Mr. Garcia.
Health and Human Services, the organization that oversees ORR, did not respond to a request for comment on the case, which experts described as one more tragedy resulting from how the government treats illegal immigrant children.
” It’s horrifying and sad but it’s not at all surprising that this happened,” said Jessica Vaughan at the Center for Immigration Studies. There is no such a careless foster placement system in any state.
Immigration illegal children who cross the border without a parent are deemed “unaccompanied” under federal law. Children from Mexico and Canada can be quickly returned, but those from abroad must first be quickly turned over to HHS, who then keeps them in custody while looking for sponsors to accept them.
After the Obama administration’s country experienced a flood of Unaccompanied Alien Children, or UACs, as they’re known in government jargon, the government had to strike a balance between processing them quickly and trying to vette the people who came forward with them.
The Trump administration erred heavily on the safety pact, but the Biden administration, overjoyed by the sheer volume of people it has invited, has veered the other way and forced children into custody without the same level of supervision.
Under President Trump in 2020, the time frame for completing the checks and placing a UAC increased to 35 days in the Biden administration‘s early years. According to the most recent government data, it currently stands at just 31 days.
Ms. Vaughan noted that there are numerous unresolved questions about the victim in Mr. Garcia‘s case, including whether or not their parents were involved. Some children have been kidnapped and trafficked in the past, while others have been tricked into giving their children up because they backed up traffickers ‘ promises to improve their lives here.
The New York Times published a report from last year about UACs who were forced to work.
HHS claims it has no control over what happens to the kids once they are forced out of the house, despite speeding up their release.
Secretary Xavier Becerra testified last month to Congress that” we ca n’t track them because there’s no obligation on their part” or” the sponsors ‘ part” to stay in touch with us. Because Congress did not grant us the authority to try to monitor them once we do the hand-off, that’s why it’s so crucial for us to conduct a good vetting process.
The majority of UACs were placed with parents who were already residing in this country, the majority of whom were living illegally or with a tentative legal status, many years ago. However, more recently are made available to people who purport to be distant relatives, such as the uncle Mr. Garcia who allegedly worked in the Kentucky case, Ms. Vaughan said.
She said the law should be changed, or at least reinterpreted, to be much stricter on who is deemed a UAC. She added, however, that the Biden administration should resume its relaxed vetting.
Better policies, such as better vetting of this sponsor, and follow-up when a child is taken into care by someone other than their parents, could have prevented this case, she said.
