U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) has joined with three other GOP senators, Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Mike Rounds (R-SD) to introduce the “End Child Trafficking Now Act.”
Blackburn’s office stated in a press release, “The bill requires DHS to deport alien adults if they refuse a DNA test and mandates a maximum 10-year prison sentence for all alien adults who fabricate family ties or guardianship over a minor. It also criminalizes ‘child recycling,’ which happens when the same child is used repeatedly to gain entry by alien adults who are neither relatives nor legal guardians. If family ties or legal guardianship cannot be proven with the accompanying adult, the Act requires HHS to process the child as an unaccompanied minor under current law.”
“After seeing the crisis firsthand, I’m reintroducing legislation to require DNA testing at the border to deter fraud and child trafficking,” Blackburn stated. “Adults attempting to slip across our borders under the guise of being a parent or relative to a minor must be DNA tested to prove they are related. Drug cartels and gangs are using children to falsely present themselves as family units and seek asylum at our southern border. These unaccompanied minors are especially vulnerable to trafficking and are often forced to perform sex acts. Making DNA tests mandatory on anyone claiming a family relationship with a minor will send a powerful message that traffickers will be caught and aggressively prosecuted.”
“Children are tragically being trafficked across the border by illegal immigrants who falsely claim they are related,” Ernst added. “This needs to stop — for the wellbeing of these children and the security of our nation. One simple way to address this problem is by having DNA testing in place so we can ensure that an unaccompanied minor is actually connected with the person claiming to be their family, not being used as a ‘human passport’ to illegally get across our border.”
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