Lt. Chris Olivarez, spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, told Newsmax on Monday about the tragic situation of unaccompanied children being encountered at the southern border and that more needs to be done at the federal level to help them.
Olivarez's appearance on "The Record With Greta Van Susteren" came on the heels of a report by the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general released in August that showed the Biden-Harris administration lost track of more than 300,000 unaccompanied migrant children.
The report said an untold number of them were released into the U.S. to "qualified sponsors" and were at risk of sex trafficking, forced labor, and other forms of exploitation. As of May, the whereabouts of 291,000 migrant children who arrived in the U.S. as unaccompanied minors are unknown because they were set free and never given a date to appear in immigration court. Another 32,000 who were given hearing dates did not show up.
"This has always been a very tragic situation when we talk about children and those that are coming across the border," Olivarez said. "Those special interest immigrants, think about their journey where they're coming from through various countries across the globe, and just it's no different with children. Children are making this long journey as well from Central and South America. And then they get to Mexico, and then from Mexico they get transported or smuggled across the border between a port of entry. So, it's a very dire situation when it comes to children."
Olivarez bemoaned that there is little his agency can do if children don't show signs of abuse or speak out about being abused because it ultimately is a federal matter.
"Our interaction as a state agency is very brief with these children," he said. "All we can do is document what we see, and if we see any signs of abuse or exploitation, or if a child makes an outcry to one of us saying that they have been abused, then we can do something at the state level. But our interaction is very brief.
"All we can do is document what we see, document everything these children have with them, and then turn them over to Border Patrol. And from there, we don't know exactly where they end up."
Olivarez said the children often have a letter with an address and phone number signifying a sponsor within the U.S., but it's unknown whether the sponsor is legitimate. He said letting the children go is one of the hardest parts of his job.
"That's probably one of the hardest challenges that we face as a state police agency is that when we come across children, our hands are tied because, obviously, this is a federal immigration issue," he said. "All we can do is try to document or look for any type of signs of abuse. But as you mentioned, these sponsors, we don't know exactly who these sponsors are. There's no vetting on these sponsors. And that's why you do have these children that are exposed to sex and labor trafficking.
"It's a reality of the situation and no one talks about it. And I appreciate what you're doing and talking about this and highlighting it because it is a serious issue, and it's an ongoing issue. And more needs to be done at the federal level, but unfortunately, it's not being done."
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Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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