Congressman Lance Gooden (R-TX) Introduces Legislation to End Child Trafficking at the Border

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On the southern border of our country, thousands of children are being used by criminals to claim asylum under a special classification for families. The Department of Homeland Security uncovered more than 5,500 fraudulent claims since May 2018. Its officials have further exposed child recycling rings in which the same child is used to gain entry and sent back across the border to be used repeatedly.

To counter this inhumane practice, Congressman Lance Gooden (R-TX) has introduced the End Child Trafficking Now Act to implement DNA testing of individuals who claim a family connection when petitioning for asylum in America. Earlier this year, Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) implemented a pilot program and the results were astounding: nearly one in five claims of kinship were proven fraudulent. Congressman Gooden’s bill would levy a maximum prison sentence of 10 years for cases in which fraudulent family connections are discovered.

From Congressman Gooden:

“This bill is needed because children are being bought and sold like cattle at an auction to take advantage of our broken immigration system by claiming fraudulent family ties,” said Gooden. “It would require potential immigrants to submit to DNA testing when they can’t produce documentation of a family relationship and levy a prison sentence for those found to be exploiting minors.”