By The Daily Wire (World News) | Created at 2026-08-05 12:06:22 | Updated at 2026-08-05 22:14:27
15 hours ago
The Trump administration wants migrant children who came to the United States alone to feel empowered to seek help if they have become victimized by traffickers.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) plans to release a 30-second video this week informing migrant children about the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s National Call Center, a hotline where they can seek help if they’re being abused or exploited, The Daily Wire has learned.
The video, which includes Spanish subtitles, urges migrant children who are in forced labor or exploitative conditions to call a number for support.
Once a child reports abuse, Homeland Security Investigations will “immediately” open an investigation, often “within hours,” and begin tracking down the victim, John Fabbricatore, a senior advisor at HHS leading the effort to track down the thousands of migrant kids who went unaccounted for under the Biden administration, told The Daily Wire.
“It’s a tool in our toolbox that we can put out there to hopefully get some information on children that are still out there,” Fabbricatore, who previously served as the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office director in Denver, said.
“We’re gonna do everywhere that we can … We’re going to contact social media, we’re gonna contact influencers, we’re gonna contact news organizations and try to push that out everywhere we can … share it with Telemundo and Spanish-speaking channels and media and try to get it out to the broadest audience that we can,” he said.
The PSA video features an animation of a child walking alone before he’s seen working cleaning and construction jobs.
“If you’re one of the nearly 479,000 children that came to the U.S. alone prior to January 2025, without family, without support, if you’re being forced to work, experiencing exploitation, or feeling unsafe, help is available,” the video states.
“The national call center connects you to support, information, and a safe way to report concerns. You’re not alone; don’t let anyone take advantage of you. If you need help or are in danger, call now,” it adds.
Under then-President Joe Biden’s watch, federal authorities lost track of roughly 320,000 migrant kids after they were released into the United States to poorly vetted sponsors, according to an August 2024 inspector general’s report.
The Biden administration’s hotline for migrant minors in distress also had 65,000 unanswered calls, Fabbricatore said.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Monday that federal authorities have now located more than 148,000 previously unaccounted-for children.
Mullin said the administration “will not stop fighting until every last one is rescued.”
Roughly 291,000 of the migrant children were never given future court dates, making it nearly impossible for federal authorities to know their whereabouts, according to the inspector general report.
There were another 32,000 migrant children that were released with hearing dates but failed to appear in court, according to the report, which tracked cases from October 2018 to September 2023.
Federal whistleblowers also exposed the faulty vetting system that they said placed some of the children with gang members, criminals, and traffickers.
Since President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, the vetting process has been completely overhauled.
The Trump administration now requires sponsors and other adults living in their home to provide their fingerprints for thorough background checks. DNA testing is required for sponsors who claim to be relatives of the child.
Homeland Security agents must also meet with the sponsor and HHS officials inspect the sponsor’s home to ensure it’s suitable for the child.
Fabbricatore emphasized that the Trump administration won’t “tolerate children being placed with sponsors who pose risks to their safety and well-being.”
“It’s very important that we’re not just releasing children into the community that are just going to disappear,” Fabbricatore said.
“We want to make sure that if there is a release that we’ve gone through an entire process to make sure that that child is going into a safe environment,” he said. “We’re not releasing kids within a matter of minutes or days like the last administration did.”
One of the victims of the Biden administration’s lax vetting system for sponsors recently shared her disturbing account of being held by abusive sponsors. The video was released by Steve Hilton, the Republican gubernatorial candidate in California, to highlight the failures of his opponent, former HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra.
NEW TESTIMONY: “I was sexually abused because of Xavier Becerra.”
Migrant girl sent to child traffickers after Becerra dismantled HHS vetting procedures. Forced to work 20 hour days—no pay, no water. Slept on ceramic floor surrounded by men. Sexually assaulted.
“They kept me… pic.twitter.com/gcycSJO3Xy
— Steve Hilton (@SteveHiltonx) August 3, 2026
“Because of the administration of Xavier Becerra, I have been sexually abused. I slept on a ceramic floor in a room with four men who were sleeping there. A drunk man came in the house … and stayed to sleep next to me and he wanted to rape me,” the girl recounted.
“I got up and knocked on the door of my supposed sponsor. I knocked on the door and told her that I didn’t know what that man was doing there. And that’s where I sleep, I told her. She said, ‘Let him because he’s drunk and he doesn’t know what he’s doing.’ Xavier Becerra failed me because he never cared about my safety. I ended up in the hands of child traffickers and I was almost raped. They kept me like a slave and they didn’t let me talk to my family,” she added.
