DHS Reveals Shocking Abuse of Migrant Children During Biden Era

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The Department of Homeland Security acknowledged Thursday that under the Biden administration, some unaccompanied migrant children were placed with sponsors who later impregnated them.

In other cases, minors who arrived at the border without parents were released to adults with serious criminal histories, including possession of child pornography or involvement in forced labor, the department said, the Washington Times reported.

Hundreds of thousands of these unaccompanied children entered the U.S. during a surge at the southern border. The administration, overwhelmed by the volume, expedited their release from overcrowded and unsafe detention facilities. Officials now acknowledge that this action put some children in unsafe situations.

“Children’s safety and security is non-negotiable,” said Laszlo Baksay, a spokesperson at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “The previous administration’s failure to implement meaningful safeguards has allowed vulnerable kids to fall into the hands of criminals.”

Homeland Security Investigations, a division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has spent recent months conducting welfare checks on unaccompanied migrant children. The findings released Thursday stem from that ongoing effort, the Times reported.

Investigators found some children living in conditions described as “neglect,” while others had been placed with sponsors who had criminal histories, including charges for assault, drug trafficking, prostitution, and attempted murder.

ICE identified the fathers as the “alleged sponsors” in what they called the “most disturbing cases,” revealing that some of the girls were pregnant.

Unaccompanied migrant children have long presented complex challenges for the U.S. immigration system, with risks and responsibilities at every stage of the process.

These minors often endure harrowing journeys to reach the U.S. border. Once in custody, they are intended to be placed with vetted sponsors who can care for them while they pursue legal immigration status, the Times report noted further.

Under the Biden administration, the number of sponsor placements surged, at times exceeding 18,000 per month, making it difficult for the government to thoroughly vet each sponsor under protocols originally established during the Trump administration.

In response, the Department of Health and Human Services relaxed some of those requirements. However, analysts say the changes led to more unsafe and potentially harmful placements.

Federal watchdogs have previously reported that the government lost contact with tens of thousands of children and failed to adequately monitor hundreds of thousands more.

The Trump administration pledged to locate missing children, but conducting effective welfare checks has remained a persistent challenge, said the Times.

Jarrod Sadulski, a child trafficking expert who has testified before Congress, said investigators made 100,000 welfare check attempts but were able to locate only about 5,000 children—a success rate of just 5%.

Among the cases reviewed, more than two dozen showed potential signs of human trafficking, said the outlet.

Sadulski also noted that the Department of Health and Human Services failed to respond to over 65,000 calls to its abuse hotline for unaccompanied alien children.

Meanwhile, border czar Tom Homan shared some tragic news when he spoke at the Republican National Lawyers Association’s annual policy conference last month.

He told the story of ICE agents who recently rescued a pregnant 14-year-old girl who had been trafficked.

“We just found one two days ago. A 14-year-old little girl. Living with two adult males. Who trafficked her,” he said.

“We found her, she’s pregnant. From trafficking being forced into prostitution. 14 years old. We are taking care of her. Both physically and mentally,” Homan said.

“Despite what the media says, we are not heartless. We care about these kids. I am a father,” he said.

“That s**t (human trafficking) is happening every day. We are going to put an end to it. Everything we can do,” he said.

IT ALL CAME OUT' – GAVIN NEWSOM BLOWS UP AFTER BEING EXPOSED LIVE ON AIR

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As the 2028 presidential election cycle rapidly approaches, life is getting increasingly complicated for California Governor Gavin Newsom.

The ambitious Democrat, widely expected to declare his candidacy for his party's highest nomination, is currently drowning in a massive, rapidly expanding ethics scandal centered on hundreds of millions of dollars in questionable corporate donations. As federal investigators continue to circle both the governor and his wife, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the sheer scale of his fundraising tactics is raising serious alarm bells across the political spectrum.

At the absolute center of this controversy is Newsom’s unprecedented and unapologetic use of "behested payments"—a controversial practice in California law that allows elected officials to personally solicit massive, unlimited donations from deep-pocketed corporations, wealthy individuals, and labor unions to fund specific charities or government initiatives.

While technically legal under the state's highly permissive rules, government watchdogs and ethics experts are fiercely arguing that these payments represent a glaring, dangerous loophole. It essentially allows special interests—many of whom have active, highly lucrative business before the state of California—to gain massive political influence and curry favor with the governor, entirely outside the strict boundaries of traditional campaign finance laws.

The $347 Million Man

According to official California disclosure records, the scale at which Newsom utilizes this loophole is utterly staggering. Since 2011, Newsom has reported soliciting more than $347 million in behested payments.

To put that massive figure into perspective, data from the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) reveals that all elected officials statewide combined directed roughly $556 million in behested payments between 2011 and 2026. Newsom alone accounted for nearly two-thirds—a whopping 62%—of that total.

By stark contrast, his predecessor, former Democratic Governor Jerry Brown, reportedly solicited a relatively modest $35 million in behested payments during his entire tenure.

"Behested payments are ripe for abuse," warned Sean McMorris of California Common Cause, pointing out the obvious ethical minefield created when powerful elected officials lean on organizations that have direct business before the government.

The Optics of Influence Peddling

The ethical concerns are not just hypothetical; they are rooted in a pattern of massive corporate donations followed by highly favorable state actions.

Public reports have raised serious questions about several major donors who opened their checkbooks at Newsom's behest and later benefited immensely from state contracts or policy decisions. For example, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the healthcare giant Blue Shield donated a staggering $20 million to initiatives heavily supported by Newsom. Shortly thereafter, the corporation was miraculously awarded a highly lucrative, no-bid state contract related to vaccine distribution.

Similarly, the Kaiser Foundation contributed nearly $10 million before securing a significantly expanded role in California’s massive Medi-Cal program. In another instance, the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria donated millions to organizations associated with the governor and his wife’s initiatives. Later, they benefited significantly from favorable state decisions involving tribal gaming matters, including efforts to block a rival casino from opening nearby.

While proving an explicit, legal quid pro quo is notoriously difficult, critics argue that the actual transaction is irrelevant. The concern is that the system inherently encourages and rewards a "pay-to-play" culture. Assemblyman David Tangipa slammed the practice, describing behested payments as a blatant form of "political influence peddling," boldly arguing that just because the system is legal does not mean it isn't deeply corrupt.

The Family Business and Federal Heat

The issue has drawn even fiercer scrutiny because millions of these corporate dollars have been funneled directly into organizations tightly linked to the governor’s inner circle. Approximately $4.8 million in behested donations were routed to the California Partners Project, a nonprofit organization co-founded by Jennifer Siebel Newsom. For many critics, corporate money flowing into a charity run by the governor's wife creates, at the very least, a glaring appearance of a massive conflict of interest.

The intense debate over this influence-peddling loophole comes at a highly precarious time for the governor. Newsom recently acknowledged that both he and his wife are currently the subjects of multiple, ongoing federal investigations. While neither has been charged with any wrongdoing, and the Department of Justice has remained completely tight-lipped about the exact nature of the inquiries, the specter of a federal probe casts a dark cloud over his 2028 presidential ambitions.

A "Laughable Slap on the Wrist"

Adding insult to injury for government transparency advocates, Newsom recently agreed to pay a $31,500 ethics fine handed down by the state's campaign finance watchdog, the FPPC. The fine was levied after the commission found that Newsom flagrantly failed to legally report 36 separate behested payments—totaling more than $5.6 million—within the required 30-day timeframe.

The late disclosures involved massive corporate donations solicited during the 2024 and 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, pulling in vast sums from corporate titans like BlackRock, Amazon, Lockheed Martin, and Anthem Blue Cross. While Newsom's office brushed off the violation as a mere paperwork oversight during an emergency, critics blasted the $31,500 penalty as a "laughable slap on the wrist" for a wealthy politician manipulating a quarter-billion-dollar shadow fundraising system. This marks the second time Newsom has been fined for late reporting of these payments, having previously paid a $13,000 fine in 2024.

Supporters of the governor are quick to point out that these behested donations have funded critical public initiatives, including wildfire relief and charitable causes. However, the public benefit of those projects does absolutely nothing to eliminate the massive concerns surrounding transparency, corporate influence, and the ability of powerful special interests to funnel unlimited cash into causes promoted by the state's most powerful executive.

As Newsom attempts to position himself as the future of the Democratic Party, the growing scandal surrounding his $347 million loophole is forcing a national reckoning. The American people are left to wonder: if this is how Gavin Newsom runs California, how exactly would he run the country?