WASHINGTON – On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) joined U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and 42 bicameral Republican colleagues in a letter urging President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to work with Congress to root out abuses in their administration’s unaccompanied migrant children program and stop the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)’s cover-up of the crisis. HHS has failed to comply with two out of three Department of Homeland Security (DHS) subpoenas and other information requests issued amid its investigation into more than 100 suspicious sponsors.

Under the Biden-Harris administration, more than 500,000 unaccompanied migrant children have crossed the southwest border without a parent or guardian to provide care. Simultaneously, cartel trafficking activity surged an estimated 2,500 percent from the Trump administration to the middle of the Biden-Harris term in 2022. Amid this crisis, the lawmakers noted that the Biden-Harris administration limited background checks for sponsors of unaccompanied children, cut back on familial DNA testing at the border, and decreased information sharing with law enforcement.

The lawmakers urged Biden and Harris to “make changes to [their] policies and procedures for UACs” in order to “end this public safety crisis.” They specifically called on the Biden-Harris administration to enhance information sharing with law enforcement and Congress, fully cooperate with DHS’s child exploitation investigation, and thoroughly respond to all congressional oversight requests.

“[The Biden-Harris HHS] must stop its cover-up and cooperate with law enforcement and Congress to end this crisis and protect unaccompanied children and the American people,” the lawmakers wrote.

Sens. Johnson and Grassley were joined by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.),  John Thune (R-S.D.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W. Va.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), John Kennedy (R-La.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Roger Marshall (R-Kans.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.).

Additional co-signers in the House include House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), along with Reps. Tom McLintock (R-Ca.), Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Chip Roy (R-Texas), Dan Bishop (R-N.C.), Scott Fitzgerald (R-Wis.), Cliff Bentz (R-Ore.), Ben Cline (R-Va.), Barry Moore (R-Ala.), Russell Fry (R-S.C.), Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.), Wesley Hunt (R-Texas), Laurel Lee (R-Fla.) and Michael Rulli (R-Ohio).

Full text of the letter can be found here.

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