On this National Missing Children’s Day, we honor the memory of every missing child who has not yet returned home. Each child represents a cherished life, and their absence is a deep loss felt by families nationwide. Today, we reaffirm our commitment to using all available resources to ensure their safe return.
The prior administration’s four-year period of open-border policies led to hundreds of thousands of migrant children being lost or placed with unvetted sponsors. Many of these were unaccompanied minors who were trafficked across the border alone, scared, and vulnerable, ultimately falling into the hands of sex traffickers and human smugglers due to inadequate policies. This represents a severe betrayal of our most innocent, resulting in modern-day exploitation that inflicted unimaginable suffering and abuse on a generation of children who needed protection.
Our Administration is determined to rectify this injustice and reunite these children with their families. We have initiated an unprecedented collaboration with State and local governments to locate the missing children and safely return them to their home countries. Our efforts will continue until every child is safe. We have reinforced border security and assigned ICE officers to apprehend illegal alien predators who prey on children and support human smuggling networks. These networks are being dismantled to ensure those endangering children face American justice. We have also enhanced law enforcement capabilities, providing police and federal agencies with the necessary funding and tools to apprehend and imprison predators. Across America, we are achieving historically low crime rates, ensuring the safety of families and children.
As we observe this National Missing Children’s Day, we keep the missing children close to our hearts and are steadfast in our promise to their families that we will not cease our efforts until they are safely returned. We will explore every lead, conduct thorough investigations, and leave no stone unturned until America’s children are secure, protected, and free.
