WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) introduced the Preventing the Recycling of Immigrants is Necessary for Trafficking Suspension (PRINTS) Act, aimed at combatting trafficking and child recycling by giving U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) the authority to fingerprint non-citizens under the age of 14:

“Under President Biden’s open border policies, we are witnessing a devastating humanitarian crisis, and children are the primary victims,” said Senator Blackburn. “Abusing and using a child again and again is one of the most heinous acts imaginable, and yet it happens every day along the southern border. Empowering border patrol agents to fingerprint non-citizens under the age of 14 would give them the tools they need to identify victims of child recycling and stop this abuse in its tracks. Given that the Biden administration carelessly lost track of 85,000 migrant children, passing this legislation could not be more critical.”

“The Biden administration made the southern border a gateway for child trafficking. Vulnerable children have been sold, recycled, and exploited under democrats’ watch,” said Dr. Cassidy. “With the new Trump administration in sight, we will end this abuse.”

“Biden’s failure on the border crisis has led to the exploitation of our most vulnerable – our children,” said Senator Daines. “It’s time we crack down on this horrific practice of ‘recycling’ innocent children and I’m proud to support this legislation to fight back against the humanitarian crisis Biden has created.”

“The murderous drug cartels have exploited the open-borders policies of the last four years to reap billions off of human smuggling,” said Senator Ernst. “By fingerprinting every child at the border, we not only protect our nation by learning who is attempting to enter but we also protect the kids by ensuring they are not being trafficked. Cartels cannot be allowed to profit off the exploitation, abuse, and forced labor of minors.”

“Over the last four years, child exploitation at our nation’s southern border has exploded. This humanitarian crisis is a direct result of the Biden administration’s open border policies,” said Senator Grassley. “The PRINTS Act would empower law enforcement to identify victims of child trafficking and stamp out this horrific abuse. Congress must act quickly to protect vulnerable children and begin to undo the damage of the Biden administration.”

“The PRINTS Act will allow CBP agents to fingerprint children at the border, helping to ensure that minors aren’t being exploited by human traffickers,” said Senator Hoeven. “This is a common sense tool that will help CBP stop trafficking and help deter illegal immigration. This legislation is part of our efforts to secure the border and crack down on human trafficking.”

“Too often the Biden administration turned a blind eye to the perils its policies created for minor children at our southern border, including fingerprinting these children.  Our legislation would restore authority for federal border officials to fingerprint noncitizen youth to help combat trafficking and child recycling by traffickers,” said Senator Hyde-Smith, who serves on the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee.

“The last four years of Biden's open border policies have flooded our country with deadly drugs, devastated communities, and fueled a tragic human trafficking epidemic on our southern border,” said Senator Sheehy. “Tragically, children have become the primary victims of these heinous crimes and we must put a stop to it. I appreciate Senator Blackburn's leadership and am proud to stand with my colleagues in working to save more children from the horrors of the humanitarian crisis happening on our open southern border."

Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) also co-sponsored this legislation.

• 1 in every 3 human trafficking victims is a child.

• In 2019, ICE identified 600 children who were “recycled,” with one child being brought across the border as many as eight different times.

• Recent reports indicate that the Department of Health and Human Services has lost track of over 85,000 children released to sponsors, subjecting these children to exploitation, abuse, and forced labor.
• Despite these statistics, current DHS regulation and federal law prohibit Border Patrol agents from fingerprinting children under the age of 14.

The PRINTS Act would:

• Give CBP the authority to fingerprint non-citizens under the age of 14 in order to combat trafficking and child recycling;

• Require DHS to publicly report the number of apprehensions in a given month involving child traffickers who falsely claimed that an accompanying child was a relative;

• Require DHS to submit an annual report to Congress identifying the number of minors who were fingerprinted pursuant to this Act;

• Remove the U.S. Attorney General’s authority to waive fingerprinting requirements for those illegally crossing the southern border; and

• Criminalize child recycling.

Click here for bill text.