Trump administration points to surge in unaccompanied migrant children during Biden years

US Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Thursday said more than 475,000 unaccompanied migrant children entered the US during the previous Biden administration.

Speaking alongside Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin at a joint news conference, Blanche said the administration is prioritizing efforts to protect migrant children and prosecute those accused of taking advantage of the immigration system.

"For years, open border policies have threatened the security of our nation and put countless lives at risk," Blanche said.

Blanche announced the indictments of three individuals who allegedly took part in a wide-ranging conspiracy to smuggle more than a dozen children into the US by scamming the system and exploiting the loopholes created by the last administration.

Mulling, for his part, said his department started "digging" into the cases and blamed the previous Biden administration for allowing kids to go missing throughout the country.

"We found 146,000 kids so far. We still have nearly 300,000 missing," he said, adding that some of these kids claimed that they were raped over 600 times.

"We’re going to rescue as many kids as we possibly can. We’re going to enforce our nation’s laws, and we’re going to right the wrongs that the Biden administration turned a blind eye to," he added.

When asked whether this problem is still widespread, Blanche said the administration is "still dealing with a crisis in this country from what happened for four years."