U.S. charges 3 for alleged smuggling conspiracy involving unaccompanied minors

The Justice Department announced on Thursday it has charged three people in Ohio for conspiring to smuggle unaccompanied minors across the U.S. border.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the indictment against Maritza Azucena Cahuec Coc, Carlos Cahuec Coc and one other defendant is emblematic of a broader problem, in which fraudsters are often serving as “super sponsors” of three or more unrelated unaccompanied minors. Many of those children are then subsequently trafficked for labor or sex, he said. 

“When the government fails to protect our borders, it is the most vulnerable who suffer,” Blanche told reporters at a news conference.

The indictment, unsealed in the Northern District of Ohio, charges the defendants with 19 counts, including conspiracy to encourage and induce an alien to enter the U.S., making false statements, identity theft and more.

Markwayne Mullin, the secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, alleged that the Biden administration was derelict in its duty by failing to vet the sponsors of the children and to conduct wellness checks to ensure their safety. 

“The Biden administration, under true neglect at best and criminal at worst,” allowed 450,000 kids to go missing, he alleged, adding that the Trump administration has so far located 146,000. 

The remaining 300,000 remain missing, he added.

Mullin and Blanche did not suggest, however, there were any plans underway to target former Biden administration officials who were involved in the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement for criminal prosecution. The ORR is the agency responsible for caring for unaccompanied minors until they can be connected with sponsors in the U.S., typically family members.

“I’m not indicting past leadership right here on this podium,” Blanche told reporters. “But you can also not ignore what was an incredible dereliction of duty at best.”

DOJ, DHS and HHS officials said on Thursday that they have determined there are more than 81,000 of the same addresses used to repeatedly receive unaccompanied minors.

Angie Salazar, the acting director of the ORR, told reporters that the administration also identified more than 76,000 instances where mandatory safety checks were missing, as well as more than 97,000 cases that lacked background checks.

Salazar said that children who are the victims of crime, even those who are now adults, are eligible to apply for a U-visa. The visas are typically granted to noncitizens who are victims of crime or who have provided substantial assistance to law enforcement.