HHS official unsure of briefing time for Hill on Unaccompanied Children Program.
A senior Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) executive was unable to provide a clear answer to a congressional oversight subcommittee regarding the scheduling of a briefing requested four months ago. The briefing was meant to address the government’s process for placing unaccompanied minors who cross into the U.S. at the Southern border.
Representative Laurel Lee (R-Fla.) expressed her frustration, stating, “On March 2, 2023, the [House Judiciary] Committee requested a general briefing on the Unaccompanied Children (UAC) placement process or a demonstration of the UAC portal. It has been over four months, and we have not yet received the briefing on the UAC or the demonstration of the portal.”
This exchange took place during the July 18 hearing of the judiciary panel’s Subcommittee on Responsiveness and Accountability to Oversight. The hearing aimed to address the Biden administration’s handling of congressional requests and subpoenas for information and documents. HHS Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs Melanie Egorin and Naz Durakoglu, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Legislative Affairs, were among the witnesses.
Representative Lee continued her questioning, asking Ms. Egorin when the briefing could be scheduled. Ms. Egorin responded, “Congresswoman, I will have my staff reach out to your office to start working through a process on that issue.”
A spokesman for HHS stated that they have repeatedly offered to hold a briefing, but the committee has not responded to schedule. They are still waiting for a response from the committee.
Unanswered Questions
Representative Lee also raised concerns about the inability of Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) Director Robin Dunn Marcos to answer multiple questions during a transcribed interview with committee investigators. These questions focused on how her staff handles unaccompanied minors, including the screening process for prospective sponsors to ensure the safety of the children.
Ms. Lee stated, “Dunn Marcos was unable to provide information or answer a series of questions asked during a transcribed interview with the committee—about 30 questions she was not able to answer. For example, she couldn’t answer questions about whether the office she leads has a policy to refer known gang members to the Department of Justice. She also wasn’t sure during that interview whether, during her tenure, HHS had ever transferred a child to a home where a registered sex offender lives, among other questions. We are also interested in how many unaccompanied alien children we have lost track of during this [Biden] administration.”
Ms. Lee expressed her disappointment that the committee is still waiting for answers promised by Ms. Dunn Marcos during the interview. Ms. Egorin responded, “Congresswoman, at this moment, I am unaware of where we are in terms of a timeline. I am happy to have my staff work with your staff and provide an update.”
Government data shows that over 128,000 unaccompanied minors were referred to HHS in 2022. However, the actual number of UACs in the United States is difficult to determine due to the dismissal of thousands of cases by immigration court judges, according to the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS).
Some Democrats on the subcommittee questioned the necessity of the hearing, suggesting that the issues raised were merely scheduling problems.
“I think that a lot of the questions that have been posed, they sound like scheduling issues to me,” said Representative Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.).
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