A federal whistleblower alleged a Trump administration official made "inaccurate statements" to a federal court, as part of the attempted deportation of around 600 Guatemalan and Honduran kids from the U.S. —including 69 from Arizona—over Labor Day weekend.
Last week, the Government Accountability Project—an nonpartisan advocacy organization devoted to protecting whistleblowers—told Congress that Angie Salazar, the acting director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, put at least 30 children at risk of "abuse, neglect, human trafficking, torture, and other forms of violence" if they returned to Guatemala.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement is a division of the Department of Health and Human Services. Under federal law, ORR is required to "feed, shelter, and provide medical care" for children who arrive in the U.S. without parents or guardians until it can "release them to safe settings with sponsors (usually family members), while they await immigration proceedings."
Sponsors must pass a background check, "ensure" the child’s attends immigration proceedings and report to ICE for removal from the United States "if an immigration judge issues a removal order or voluntary departure order," according to the agency's website.
Salazar's declaration was central to the federal government's argument it prepared to remove the kids based on set criteria, including assurances that their parents sought their return.
However, whistleblowers told GAP that Salazar "knew or should have...
Trump falsely claims 274 FBI agents were placed in the January 6 crowd. DOJ report found no evidence FBI agents orchestrated the Capitol riot. 1,400 arrests made and 1,000 convictions tied to the...