California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton released a new campaign video Thursday that includes whistleblower footage of more than 200 migrant children being housed at a container storage site during Xavier Becerra's tenure as Secretary of Health and Human Services. The three-minute video features an anonymous whistleblower who claims that employees who raised concerns about the placement of migrant children faced retaliation and were terminated.
According to the whistleblower, one employee discovered that over 200 migrant children had been sent to the same address. Upon checking the location via Google Maps, she allegedly found it was not a residential neighborhood but "just like a lot with containers." The whistleblower stated that when this employee contacted an anti-trafficking hotline about the situation, she was terminated the following day. When asked if Becerra could have been unaware of the alleged situation, the whistleblower responded, "No, he was aware."
The video also details another case where a 13-year-old girl from El Salvador's proposed sponsor was allegedly flagged as wanted by international law enforcement. The whistleblower claims a federal employee who continued investigating this case was escorted from the facility and later fired.
Hilton's campaign has launched a website, "BecerraMigrantChildAbuseCamps.com," soliciting information about what he describes as Becerra's handling of "migrant child abuse camps." This follows a previous whistleblower video released by Hilton's campaign alleging abuse, trafficking, and inadequate vetting procedures at the Pomona Fairplex, an emergency intake center for unaccompanied migrant minors.
The Fairplex was one of several emergency intake sites established nationwide as nearly 480,000 unaccompanied migrant children crossed the U.S.-Mexico border during Becerra's leadership at HHS between 2021 and 2025. These allegations echo findings from a 2023 New York Times investigation that reported thousands of migrant children released from federal custody ended up in exploitative labor situations.
Jonathan Underland, a spokesperson for the Becerra campaign, rejected Hilton's accusations, asserting that Hilton is attempting to rewrite history and align himself with former President Donald Trump. "Where Sec. Becerra rebuilt the child protection systems Trump gutted, Steve Hilton has proudly allied himself with the president who put those children in harm’s way... Hilton is bought in. He doesn’t get to cash out now," Underland stated.
Becerra has previously told Congress that HHS's legal authority over unaccompanied migrant children ends upon their release to approved sponsors, unless Congress grants additional authority. The general election for Governor of California is scheduled for November 3, 2026. Becerra, a Democrat, and Hilton, a Republican, advanced from the June open primary.