More than 600 Children ‘Recycled’ by Migrant Smugglers At Border: ICE

More than 600 children were “recycled” through the border over the last year, including some who were carried across eight times, by a different person each time, looking to exploit lax policies to gain a foothold in the U.S., a top ICE official told Congress on Wednesday.

And those are only cases that were detected, officials said.

The recycled children are one of the more disturbing aspects of illegal border flow over the last 12 months, which set records for the number of children and families who snuck into the U.S.

The families were drawn by a lax policy, imposed by a federal court, that gives adults a quick release into communities as long as they brought a son or daughter with them.

The result was massive levels of fraud, with adults renting or outright buying unrelated children in order to present themselves as a family, authorities said. In some cases it was a one-off, but in other instances children were “recycled” across the border multiple times, said Derek N. Benner, acting deputy director at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“We’ve identified over 600 children that have been recycled,” he said.

Fourth Florida resident dies after contracting flesh-eating bacteria linked to oysters

Washington Democrat claims majority of recent DHS arrestees posed ‘no threat to public safety’

Injured climber crawls ‘through the night’ to safety after falling 500 feet down California mountain

Republican upsets party-backed rival to challenge first openly trans member of Congress

Watch: Accused Child Sex Predator Literally Faints in Front of Judge After Learning Penalty He’s Facing

President Trump Nominates Franklin Graham’s Daughter for Key Religious Freedom Position

Nancy Mace Wants Lindsay Clancy Executed, And Says ‘It Should Be Public’

Judge refers Philadelphia district attorney to federal prosecutors over handling of murder case

Senate moves to rein in college sports ‘Wild West’ with sweeping new rules for players, schools

Democrat rebels defy Jeffries to hand GOP critical win just before midterms

Kash Patel says ‘no evidence’ Trump shooter Thomas Crooks spoke to anyone but his parents

Oct. 7 families release dossier blaming Netanyahu for massacre

Historic: FBI Captures All 10 Fugitives on ‘Most Wanted’ List in Trump’s Second Term

Newsom’s Harris gamble: Clearing the field or betting she won’t run?

Mainstream Media Attempts to Cancel Star Texas QB Arch Manning for His Comments About Female ESPN Reporter

That means that once they came across with an unrelated adult, they were then separated by the smuggling operation and taken back south across the border to be brought back again with a new adult, he said.

“Some of them had indicated they’ve made the trip as many as eight times, with separate, unrelated adults each time,” he added.

Mark Morgan, acting commissioner at Customs and Border Protection, recounted one case where they caught a Honduran man who’d “bought a child” for $80, then attempted to cross into the U.S.

“Why did he do it? Because the loopholes in our system told him — and the smugglers made sure he understood — ‘You grab a child, that’s your passport into the United States,’” Mr. Morgan told the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

Mr. Benner detailed another case where a Guatemalan man showed up at the border with a girl he claimed to be his daughter. Authorities didn’t immediately sniff out the fake relationship and under the lax U.S. policies toward families the man and girl were released.

The girl was “repeatedly” sexually abused and beaten, until she was finally rescued, Mr. Benner said.

ICE began in the spring to use DNA testing to try to weed out fraudulent families at the border.

That involved taking people who presented as families, but where suspicions were raised, and testing DNA to try to confirm the purported relationship. At the height, Mr. Benner said, about a quarter of the cases tested came back as fake families.

Cartels began to adjust their strategies and the rate is now 13% to 15%, he said.