HHS Chief Defends His Agency’s Handling of Children Who Entered US Illegally

In testimony before a congressional subcommittee, Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Xavier Becerra denied that 323,000 unaccompanied minor children who entered the country illegally are unaccounted for. Becerra testified on Nov. 20 before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement about his department’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). The HHS chief has come under fire recently by Republicans over reports that tens of thousands of children who entered the country illegally are now missing. Becerra did not directly answer Republican subcommittee member Rep. Thomas Tiffany (R-Wis.), who asked if he would change anything about the way his department has handled the placement of children with unreachable sponsors....