Texas congressman, ex-sheriff: Biden admin 'almost aiding and abetting' human trafficking

The Biden administration is nearly "aiding and abetting in human trafficking" due to what is occurring at the southern border, Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, said on Thursday.

"This is inhumane is what's happening here," the former Fort Bend County sheriff told "Fox & Friends," sounding the alarm on the Biden administration facing a migrant surge at the border.

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Meanwhile, Southern Border Coordinator Roberta Jacobson said Wednesday that it was not a "coincidence" border crossing attempts spiked after President Biden took office.

Asked if surges at the border could be linked to Biden’s undoing of Trump-era border policies, Jacobson said: "We've seen surges before. Surges tend to respond to hope, and there was significant hope for a more humane policy after four years of pent-up demand. 

"There was a hope for a more humane policy after four years of pent-up demand, so I don't know if I would call that a coincidence," said Jacobson, who spoke during the daily White House briefing. "But the idea that a more humane policy would be in place may have driven people to make that decision, but perhaps, more importantly, it definitely drove smugglers to express disinformation, spread disinformation about what was now possible," said Jacobson, who also serves as special assistant to the president, told reporters. She was also an ambassador to Mexico from 2016 to 2018.

Smugglers, sometimes known as "coyotes," are known to lure migrants across the border, promising few repercussions. 

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The former Texas sheriff said that children are "being trafficked" and law enforcement needs to address it immediately.

"When you think about the thousands of individuals entering our southern border and many of those being children, being minors who are then released to HHS that will go out and try to find a person or people that will be a caretaker or a sponsor," Nehls said.

"And my concern is that many of these young people are being released into our cities across our great nation to individuals that may not have the children's best interests at heart. And that is a concern. And then it's law enforcement's responsibility to go up there and clean up this mess when these kids are being trafficked. And I think this administration is almost aiding and abetting in human trafficking."

Fox News' Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.