GOP senators seek to close border fingerprinting loophole that leaves migrant children vulnerable to trafficking

Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley from Iowa and Marsha Blackburn from Tennessee introduced legislation on Tuesday that would close a loophole that leaves some migrant children vulnerable to trafficking at the border.

Current Department of Homeland Security regulations prevent Customs and Border Protection agents from collecting biometric data on children under 14 years old.

‘We are witnessing a devastating humanitarian crisis, and children are the primary victims.’

“As the regulations currently exempt certain aliens from the collection of biometrics, including those under 14 and over 79, as well as individuals in certain visa classes, CBP does not use fingerprints to confirm the traveler’s identity in these cases,” the DHS stated.

The regulation came under fire after it was revealed that the Biden administration’s Department of Health and Human Services lost track of 85,000 unaccompanied migrant children. The HHS’ Office of Refugee Resettlement is tasked with placing unaccompanied minors with sponsors in the United States.

However, a February 2023 New York Times report, based on testimony provided by HHS whistleblower Tara Rodas, revealed that the federal government “lost immediate contact” with tens of thousands of children. The scandal ignited concerns that the children had been placed with potential child traffickers and criminals.

With biometric data not collected, some have argued that it will make it more difficult to find and identify the lost children.

On Tuesday, Grassley and Blackburn introduced the Preventing the Recycling of Immigrants Is Necessary for Trafficking Suspension Act, also referred to as PRINTS.

If passed, the legislation would authorize CBP to fingerprint foreign nationals under 14 years old. The U.S. attorney general would be prevented from waiving these requirements.

The bill also requires the DHS to submit additional reporting, including disclosing the number of apprehended child traffickers who deceptively claimed to be related to an accompanying child, also referred to as “recycling,” and providing an annual log to Congress detailing the number of fingerprinted children.

Furthermore, the proposed bill would make “child recycling” a crime. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported in 2019 that it identified 900 children who were victims of the scheme.

Additional co-sponsors of the bill include Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy from Louisiana, Steve Daines from Montana, Joni Ernst from Iowa, John Hoeven from North Dakota, Cindy Hyde-Smith from Mississippi, Tim Sheehy from Montana, and Mike Rounds from South Dakota.

Grassley stated, “Over the last four years, child exploitation at our nation’s southern border has exploded. This humanitarian crisis is a direct result of the Biden administration’s open border policies.”

“The PRINTS Act would empower law enforcement to identify victims of child trafficking and stamp out this horrific abuse. Congress must act quickly to protect vulnerable children and begin to undo the damage of the Biden administration,” he said.

“Under President Biden’s open border policies, we are witnessing a devastating humanitarian crisis, and children are the primary victims,” Blackburn stated. “Abusing and using a child again and again is one of the most heinous acts imaginable, and yet it happens every day along the southern border. Empowering border patrol agents to fingerprint noncitizens under the age of 14 would give them the tools they need to identify victims of child recycling and stop this abuse in its tracks. Given that the Biden administration carelessly lost track of 85,000 migrant children, passing this legislation could not be more critical.”

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