EXCLUSIVE: SEX TRAFFICKING, PART 3 IN SERIES ON BORDER SECURITY

The horrors of sex trafficking, forced labor, organ trafficking, and drug smuggling, at our nation’s southern border continue to devastate American communities, posing a serious threat to national security. These crimes not only endanger U.S. citizens but also exploit vulnerable migrant families seeking refuge in America. Unfortunately the Biden administration exacerbated the problem with with its lawless border policies. Unprecedented numbers of illegal aliens and unaccompanied children (UCs) have been trafficked across the southern border during the previous administration, creating an unmitigated disaster.

Jarrod Sadulski and Ali Hopper have identified “two distinct migrant paths for illegal aliens. It is a “property that technically has no wall,” said Sadulski. One route is allegedly used primarily by more advantaged illegal aliens, including Chinese nationals and others, who can afford to pay coyotes (smugglers) and traffickers directly and swiftly for safe passage. “If you’re coming from China, you might be paying $30,000 to come here but there is no sense of expectation from the traffickers because they pay their debt,” Hopper added.

In contrast, poorer migrants face a far more perilous journey on the second path. They become targets for exploitation, intimidation, and violence.

Cartels, coyotes, and traffickers embed with and exploit the vulnerability of these migrants, using fear and coercion to control them. They look and dress like migrants. Hopper explained that coyotes are strategically placed within the caravans to identify those who cannot pay for unexpected expenses such as bribes or weather-related delays. “The most vulnerable are those from impoverished countries, who have little or no money to pay for their extortion,” she explained.

“And once that person’s identified as poor, they are sold to the traffickers, who work in conjunction with smugglers, for an average of $4000 to $6000, and they are brought to the United States. “Some children end up working in chicken processing facilities, for example”, Sadulki added. “We know of one case of migrant children working in an auto parts factory in Alabama. They were responsible for large-scale, forced child labor there.”

Tragically, sexual violence is rampant. Sadulski and Hopper describe how women and girls are subjected to sexual violence in remote desert areas or along trails, often in front of their families or other migrants to instill fear and compliance within the migrant caravans. A chilling symbol of this brutality are the “rape trees” found along the trails—trees adorned with women’s undergarments, which serve as a grim reminder of the suffering endured by many. The rape trees also remind passing migrants of the potential violence to which they too could be subjected, should they fail to repay their debt.

Migrants Exploited During their Arduous Journey: Controlled by Fear, Coercion and Control

Hopper and Sadulski have sounded the alarm on the devastating impact of the previous administration’s policies on migrant families. According to the two, many of these families, struggling with extreme poverty, are often coerced into selling their children—or even themselves—to drug cartels in exchange for transportation across the border. Over time, these debts are repaid through the trafficking of these children and adults, who are subjected to sex slavery or forced labor under duress in factories and other exploitative environments.

Additionally, they have met with property caretakers along the border who have shared their experiences with the frequent cries from women and children that echo in the night air. As Sadulski and Hopper recount,

“We walked the paths with one property caretaker. He told us he frequently hears the cries and screams of women and children at night. He had one child run up to him, covered in blood, being chased by a presumed trafficker. We ourselves have seen signs of sexual exploitation on the poor migrant path.”

“We met a man from Syria who was traveling with his family,” Sadulski added. “A female family member was allegedly raped in front of him. He was so broken up, so emotional, it was hard to understand him he was crying so hard. But he told us he witnessed it. In tears, he recounted witnessing his family member being raped in front of him.” This particular incident was in the Darien Gap.

“In another instance, a Border Patrol agent described an incident with two adults and a child. He told us they claimed to be the child’s parents and that the child was visibly injured. Border Patrol took the child to the hospital and the hospital confirmed the child was raped. Unfortunately, the Border Patrol agent had no choice but to hand the child back to the two perpetrators.”

Every day, children are trafficked into the U.S. for sex and labor, often with little to no intervention from authorities. Under the Biden administration, an unprecedented number of children disappeared due to the lack of effective border enforcement policies.

Trump Era DNA Testing Ends During Biden Administration

A major factor contributing to this crisis was the Biden administration’s decision to end rapid DNA testing, a critical tool in verifying familial relationships among migrants. Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) eventually halted rapid DNA testing, a measurement the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) piloted in 2019 to “verify claimed parent-child relationships” in the illegal alien population.

The DNA testing program was part of a broader Trump administration policy effort to strengthen protections for vulnerable migrants, particularly children, under the DNA Fingerprint Act of 2005. According to ICE HSI statistics, “from June 2019 to September 2021, investigators completed 3,516 Rapid DNA tests with 300 (8.5 percent) testing negative for claimed parent-child relationships and 3,216 (91.5 percent) testing positive.” The program was implemented at “11 locations across the southwest border.”

Despite the success of Rapid DNA testing in identifying fraudulent claims and preventing child trafficking, Rapid DNA testing was suspended in 2020 due to pandemic-related travel restrictions.

However, in May 2021, the Biden administration officially ended ICE’s Rapid DNA pilot program, as confirmed in a February 2022 report from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General (OIG). The report states that in September 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) was allegedly tasked with administering the practice. The Center for Immigration Studies obtained a leaked memo from the Just the News dated May 19, 2023 that stated ” [t]he U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) familial contract with BODE Technologies will end on May 31, 2023 and all familial DNA testing will conclude on that date.”

The reporting on the timing of the policy change may be confusing or inconsistent, however there is little doubt Rapid DNA testing was discontinued during the previous administration based on multiple accounts by credible sources. Below a 2023 Florida Grand Jury Report clearly states that,

“since January 2021, approximately 165,000 UAC nationwide have been given to someone who is not their parent or legal guardian, approximately 90,000 have been turned over to someone [who] claimed to be a family member without DNA testing and without adequate document verification and about 30,000 have been surrendered to someone to whom they have no relation. In Florida, using those rates, that means in the past two years at least 1,583 children went to live with a ‘Category 3’ person, nearly 6,600 went to relatives of unknown familial proximity, and only 4,750 went to an actual parent–at best. We have learned that a 2022 survey conducted by the Florida Department of Children and Families covering approximately 50 UAC at multiple group shelters revealed only four (less than ten percent of them) were being placed with a parent.”

The lack of DNA testing or valid identification papers unequivocally results in unaccompanied children who are abused and trafficked by people who are not family members. The decision to stop rapid DNA testing was likely a political decision, one that was devastatingly consequential. During the previous administration, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) allegedly lost track of 85,000 unaccompanied children in 2023 alone. It is estimated that over 320,000 unaccompanied alien children allegedly went missing between 2019 and 2023.

During their investigations, Hopper and Sadulski have also discovered numerous identifying papers, such as birth certificates, passports, and identification cards, scattered along the border, abandoned by children and families as they make their way to the U.S. border. This practice is typically done to mask the identities of the migrants, along with their countries of origin, making it harder for the US to run meaningful background checks and conduct thorough vetting.

NGOs and Shelters Often Negligent: Paid for By Taxpayers

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) also play a significant role in trafficking, whether knowingly or unknowingly. They function as intake facilities, receiving multi-million dollar federal grants, which are, in effect, taxpayer dollars. NGO shelters are often responsible for “handling children between the ages of 13-17,” said Hopper. Whether it is negligence or complicity, the NGOs effectively appear to be looking the other way to the actions of smugglers. Therefore, migrants arrive at these facilities without proper identification. In addition, corruption in the alien sponsor program is well-documented. Hopper added,

“NGOs contracted by ORR to manage programs like the Unaccompanied Children (UC) program, are complicit in the failure to protect children. Through our research, we’ve uncovered a disturbing lack of oversight and accountability. Because no meaningful background checks are done regarding these “sponsors” post-placement oversight is even more alarming. In one instance, law enforcement attempted a welfare check on 25 unaccompanied migrant children. They found only two. Sponsors claimed the children never arrived—or that unknown men took them after their arrival. In another case, a sponsor address turned out to be an empty field in Delaware.”

The abuse and harassment of UCs in NGO-run shelters have become tragically common. Southwest Key Programs, Inc., the largest shelter provider for UCs in the U.S., currently operates 29 shelters in Texas, Arizona, and California , making it the largest housing provider for UACs (unaccompanied alien children) in the U.S.” The organization is under investigation for allegations of abuse within its facilities.

Hopper also shared insights from their findings on a Christian NGO running shelters in Pecos, Texas. According to a whistleblower tasked with auditing this facility,

“The NGO awarded a no-bid contract for $385 million, facilitated by former ICE employee, Andrew Lorenzen Strait.” Hopper continued, “This is the same organization where there were observed, multiple disturbing incidents of misconduct at the shelter, such as inappropriate sexual conduct by contractors at a facility. Onsite monitors gained access to unfiltered information about the abuse. In one incident, an employee was teaching migrant children sexually explicit dances.”

“In another incident, the same employee allegedly stood on a picnic table in front of 150-200 girls, teaching them how to twerk. At the time of the report, Children ages 13-17 were still mandated to receive COVID shots at the Pecos NGO. Case managers are poorly vetted or have little to no training and experience. Finger printing was often conducted after over a year of employment and it was run through the Texas database only. Staff would manage sleeping facilities for opposite genders, (e.g. males allowed in female dorms). Often there are no inquiries into sponsor vetting or placement and the whistleblower was told to ‘stay in her lane,’ when she attempted to raise concerns.”

The rise in trafficking, smuggling, and exploitation on the southern border underscores the urgent need for effective policies that prioritize the safety and security of both American citizens and vulnerable migrants seeking asylum. As the crisis continues to unfold, it’s clear that significant reform is necessary to protect both national security and human dignity.

Sadulski and Hopper have formed a nonprofit called GUARD Against Trafficking to raise awareness and support for their efforts. The pair travels regularly to the border on the U.S. side as well as to parts of Mexico and Central America for in person interviews and information gathering. They regularly speak directly with victims, current and former cartel members imprisoned in the U.S. and Central America.

Between the two of them, they have courageously testified before the Senate and House Committees on Homeland Security. They have– and will continue to share their experiences about the horrors of trafficking at the border with Freedom Forever. Parts one and two in this important series on border security are featured on the FreedomForever.us newsfeed.

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