- Single migrant men 'buy' children and bring them across the border
- “Children are literally being used and abused repeatedly because of President Biden's open border policies,” Rep. Hinson told DailyMail.com
Republicans are pushing for a new bill that would require children under the age of 14 to be fingerprinted at the southern border to end the “use and abuse” of children by human traffickers.
Single migrant men “buy” children and bring them across the border to give the impression of being a family unit – to process them more quickly than if they got there alone.
“What we're seeing is these children are literally being used and abused repeatedly because of President Biden's open border policies,” Rep. Ashley Hinson told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview.
Unfortunately, children are “interceded” by human traffickers and smugglers, she explained.
The PRINTS Act would require fingerprinting of immigrants under the age of 14. Allowing Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials to identify human trafficking victims will help stop some of these “heinous crimes,” said Hinson, R-Iowa.
In just one week alone, the Tucson sector encountered 17,500 migrants – a new record.
“What we're seeing is these children are literally being used and abused repeatedly because of President Biden's open border policies,” Hinson told DailyMail.com
“It is truly a humanitarian crisis at the southern border right now and we must provide our Border Patrol agents with every resource possible,” Hinson continued.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., is pushing the companion bill in the Senate.
The push comes after House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, filed a subpoena from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas for information and documents on violent criminal aliens entering the US
The subpoena for information comes after DHS blocked the commission's requests for months.
In addition, Republican senators on Wednesday blocked President Biden's request for $110 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as the GOP demands tighter security measures be included at the southern border.
Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, told DailyMail.com that there are ongoing “political discussions” about how to move a security package forward.
He said that while “each side” has different priorities, border issues are “top of the list” for Republicans.
The senator said aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan is important to make progress and “we want to get it done,” but “we have to worry about our southern border first and foremost.”
“The reason the whole package has not been approved is that we have not yet reached an agreement on that part of the package,” he explained.
The PRINTS Act would require fingerprinting of immigrants under the age of 14
“What we're seeing is these children are literally being used and abused repeatedly because of President Biden's open border policies,” Hinson told DailyMail.com
“It's a top priority for us, our border, our national security, our voters.”
He continued, “No one ever said the democratic process was easy, smooth, or beautiful. But we'll get through this.'
Hinson echoed Risch's sentiment, saying there should be no “vulnerabilities” at the border.
“This is why we absolutely must secure our southern and northern borders and give our agents the tools they need to do so.”