Federal officials have revealed that nearly 30% of illegal immigrant children in U.S. custody have ties to criminal gangs.
The Border Patrol identified 160 teens who were known or suspected gang members when they first arrived at the border, but the Obama administration allowed them to stay.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican and chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said:
“It is well-known that MS-13 actively targets and recruits children as young as 8 years old. While their illegal status and Central American heritage are a key factor in MS-13’s targeting, without a doubt the failures of the current system for handling these children is also to blame,” he said. “The current system is fraught with abuse, systematic errors and a lack of effective cooperation.”
A spot check this month of 138 teens being held by the federal Health and Human Services Department identified 39 with gang ties.
4 of them were forced into cooperating with the gangs and 35 joined voluntarily, according to the Office of Refugee Resettlement.