Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered a controversial speech on the second night of the Republican National Convention in Dallas, accusing the Biden administration of turning the federal government into a “child trafficking ring.” The remarks were made during a primetime address aimed at energizing the GOP’s dwindling midterm prospects.
Kennedy cited a Department of Health and Human Services report that identified more than 300,000 migrant children who either missed immigration court hearings or never received notices. He claimed that the administration had made the U.S. the largest child trafficking operation in history, a statement that the HHS report does not support. The report notes that the children were at higher risk of trafficking, exploitation, or forced labor, but does not assert that they were trafficked.
The former independent presidential candidate promised that the HHS would aggressively locate the 300,000 children lost under the Biden administration. He also criticized Democrats for blaming the agency’s staff cuts for foodborne illness outbreaks and attacked Democratic colleagues who had called him a “fool” for trusting the president.
Kennedy’s tenure as HHS secretary has been marked by his questioning of established vaccine safety and his promotion of unproven theories linking vaccines to autism. In August, he was credited with influencing an executive order that altered the childhood vaccine schedule, a move that experts warn could reduce convenience and increase costs for families without improving safety.
The speech comes amid a broader Republican narrative that links immigration and economic concerns, with the Trump administration emphasizing mass deportations as a solution to rising prices and the high cost of gasoline, which has reached its peak since the Covid‑era fuel crisis.
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