Allegations regarding the handling of unaccompanied migrant children during Xavier Becerra's time as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services have become a central issue in the California gubernatorial campaign.
Chris Clem, a former senior adviser at HHS and retired U.S. Border Patrol chief, stated that approximately 130,000 migrant children were still unaccounted for during Becerra's leadership. Clem directly placed responsibility on Becerra, asserting that the crisis at the border, involving a significant number of children, should have been a daily focus for the secretary.
"The single largest border crisis of our lifetime and the largest amount of kids — this does rise to the secretary’s level, and he should have had a finger on the pulse daily," Clem told The Post. He questioned Becerra's preparedness for the governor's role, citing his record at HHS.
During Becerra's tenure from 2021 to early 2025, nearly 480,000 unaccompanied migrant children entered the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. A 2023 New York Times investigation found that the agency lost contact with over 85,000 children in a two-year period.
Clem's remarks follow previous whistleblower allegations from a caseworker at the Pomona Fairplex emergency intake center. These claims included the release of young children to inadequately vetted sponsors, separation of siblings, and the disappearance of minors after leaving federal custody. The whistleblower also alleged that some children were subjected to sex or labor trafficking and that transports occurred at irregular hours, possibly to avoid detection.
Becerra's campaign, in response, defended his record. Spokesperson Jonathan Underland attributed the issues to the previous Trump administration's policies, stating that Becerra rebuilt child protection systems that were dismantled. Jeff Nesbitt, former public affairs chief at HHS under Becerra, echoed this sentiment, arguing that Becerra inherited a chaotic system and worked to rebuild vetting networks.
"Secretary Becerra inherited a disorganized, chaotic mess from President Trump’s first term," Nesbitt said. "He and his HHS team re-built the sponsorship and vetting network from the ground up during the Biden administration."
Nesbitt also stated that no children were "lost," clarifying that HHS's role was to find sponsors while immigration cases were pending, and responsibility ended once children were placed with sponsors.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton has made Becerra's handling of the migrant children crisis a cornerstone of his campaign. Hilton claims that the abuses were a result of deliberate actions, not simply an overwhelmed bureaucracy.
"He failed the most basic task of humanity and decency, which is protecting the vulnerable children that were in his care," Hilton said of Becerra. He indicated that more allegations regarding Becerra's time at HHS are expected to surface.
Becerra himself has defended his record, while his campaign has placed blame on the prior administration's policies. The debate over the treatment and tracking of these children has become a significant point of contention in the race for California's governorship.