WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has successfully located at least 146,000 migrant children who went unaccounted for during the Biden administration, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced Thursday.

Mullin revealed the update during a news conference, noting that a staggering total of approximately 450,000 migrant minors went missing under the previous administration, with nearly 300,000 still unaccounted for. Many of these children were reportedly placed with sponsors after crossing the border as unaccompanied minors.

“We’re investigating reports where some of these kids claim that they were raped 600 to 700 times,” Mullin said, expressing outrage. “I don’t care who you are… If you can’t stand for law enforcement to go find these kids, who are you?”

The secretary highlighted that many of the recovered children have been found in sanctuary cities such as New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles, which have limited cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

A 2024 report from the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General first brought widespread attention to the scale of the issue. Between fiscal years 2019 and 2023, more than 448,000 unaccompanied minors were transferred from ICE custody to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for resettlement. Of those, roughly 291,000 never received notices to appear in immigration court, and 32,000 failed to show up for scheduled hearings.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche also announced charges against three Guatemalan nationals in Ohio accused of submitting false information to sponsor migrant children in exchange for payments.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) praised the efforts, stating he had long shared whistleblower evidence of migrant child trafficking with the Biden administration, which he said was largely ignored by Democrats.

The Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services has prioritized investigating leads involving sex trafficking, abuse by predators, and exploitation by gangs like MS-13. Previous reports indicated that lax sponsor vetting under the Biden-HHS leadership contributed to the crisis, with then-Secretary Xavier Becerra reportedly pushing for rapid “assembly line” releases of children to sponsors.

This development underscores ongoing efforts by the current administration to address the humanitarian and security fallout from border policies implemented during the prior four years.