A bi-partisan US Senate investigation has found that migrant children placed by the federal government with sponsors in Marion became victims of human trafficking.
Senator Rob Portman’s subcommittee on investigations found the US Department of Health and Human services placed six Guatemalan unaccompanied minors with human traffickers in Marion.
The Ohio Republican said teens were promised an education but instead were forced to work up to 12 hours a day on egg farms in Marion under threats of death.
Portman told the committee the department of HHS failed to screen sponsors of the children and failed to follow up on their well-being.
HHS says it recently signed a contract to open new shelters, and is strengthening its protection procedures as the number of young migrants is once again rising.
