Half a million unaccompanied minors entered the United States between 2019 and 2023, and experts fear many of them have been trafficked. And that does not include the children who crossed the border with individuals falsely claiming to be their family members. So where are all these children now?
Alina Habba, who is currently serving as counselor to the president, says she’s working with the different agencies involved to identify and rescue trafficking victims and prosecute the perpetrators.
“I am drafting a couple executive orders regarding that currently that I think will be important to properly get this moving for those kids,” she says.
In her role advising the president, Habba says she’s focused on human trafficking and Iraq. Habba is the daughter of Chaldean Catholics who fled Iraq in the 1980s.
Watch the video:
We dive into her work today and get an update on the status of the long-awaited Epstein files.
Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
RUSH TRANSCRIPT
Jan Jekielek:
Alina Habba, such a pleasure to have you on American Thought Leaders.
Alina Habba:
Thank you for having me.
Mr. Jekielek:
Congratulations on becoming counselor to the president. What does it mean to be in this role?
Ms. Habba:
I’m obviously a senior advisor to President Trump, as I’ve been for some time. It’s not to be confused with White House Counsel’s Office. I don’t act as an attorney for White House counsel’s office, but I am a senior advisor. I’m involved in a lot of things. I sit in on a lot of meetings and have my opinion heard when needed or asked for, and I get to work on a great portfolio that I got to select.
Mr. Jekielek:
I’ve seen you talk about this with passion, that you want to make a dent in this whole human trafficking question. Give me a sense of where we’re at right now.
Ms. Habba:
I’ve been working extensively over the past few weeks with Tom Homan Kristi Noem’s team at the Department of Homeland Security, and as well with Secretary Kennedy, because there are so many parts of our government that touch on this. There’s obviously cybersecurity issues. There’s the trafficking themselves, the border patrol, customs, you know, et cetera. And then there’s, of course, the enforcement, which is DOJ.
So where we’re at is that the last administration left us in shambles, left these children in shambles. A lot of them were misleadingly trafficked over the border when the borders were wide open, were displaced from their families, and then found themselves in vulnerable positions where they were sex trafficked and labor trafficked. I call it really human extortion. It’s not just trafficking. It’s everything. There’s cyber trafficking.
So I’ve spent the past almost two months now really understanding where this country is, how bad this is. Now, we’re in the phase of, let’s get these kids home, let’s get them better, let’s capture their captors, and let’s prosecute the johns that are sick, that are pedophiles. This is not just minors, these are adults as well.
Mr. Jekielek:
The numbers that I’ve heard, it’s about 500,000 unaccompanied minors. There’s still others that came in accompanied. I heard something to the tune of 80,000 that may have actually been at least found, maybe not physically, but just their locations are known. Is there an update on the status of that?
Ms. Habba:
We’re in the process of getting some more homes. So I won’t disclose because it’s, you know, obviously we’re in the process of getting warrants and things of that nature. But we’ve done a tremendous job already. One of the key things that this administration did that Joe Biden’s administration neglected to do and actually changed from the first Trump administration was DNA testing. They removed the ability to do DNA testing. They got rid of it.
So people were coming in with their alleged parents, aunts, uncles, whomever, and were never actually tested to verify that the people that were bringing them into this country were not part of a cartel, were not purchasing children to bring them in for malicious reasons. We have since then, since we came into office, put back in the DNA testing, made sure that we are checking to make sure these children have relations to the individuals that are claiming to have something.
Mr. Jekielek:
Just to be clear, you want to specifically focus on the child trafficking question.
Ms. Habba:
No, I’m focused on human extortion, which includes child trafficking. It’s any individual, no matter what age, that is being sex trafficked, that is being financially extorted via means of cyber, like Skype, for instance, and johns that are Skyping with minors, and sometimes it’s transnational, to have a cyber interactive, which is something I really didn’t understand until I came here.
It’s cyber interactive pornography, dictating for others to hurt children, sick, sick things that are unfortunately a reality of the world that we’re living in. So it’s much broader than that. It’s not just child trafficking. It’s really human extortion. They come in because they need money and are forced into labor in ungodly conditions. All of that.
Mr. Jekielek:
I really appreciate how you were saying that this is a complex issue that involves multiple agencies working together, different databases. There’s a complexity of getting the information together. I’m aware of at least some cases where there’s even kids that have deportation orders against them.
There are all these different agencies looking at the whole question from different angles.
Ms. Habba:
Yes, and there’s one part that I haven’t discussed, which is under Secretary Kennedy, which is the rehabilitation, the placing these children in sponsor homes. Again, it’s another disaster from the last administration. I’ve seen that there were children that were placed in fake sponsor homes under HHS, and then they would go visit to see if these children were safe and the children were not there. So effectively, they were being re-trafficked.
We’re working extensively with both public and private sector individuals that are willing to help get these children to safety, get them rehabilitated, which includes therapy, which includes medical treatment, and get them into secure homes. Again, that’s something the Biden administration just completely screwed up, for lack of a better word. It’s taking a child who’s sex trafficked, and then telling them that we’re going to save you, and then putting them in a sponsor home and then having them re-trafficked is the largest failure of an administration, in my opinion. You are taking these kids out of one problem and putting them into another, and it’s just absolutely negligent.
Mr. Jekielek:
You have this huge passion for this issue, and I can see that. I’ve watched a few of your interviews on the topic. A few weeks back, you made some comments around Andrew Tate. You’ve also said that you want to see the wheels of justice grind. That’s my understanding of your committee. But people have a lot of questions. What do you think of the situation overall? What about the comments that you made?
Ms. Habba:
The comments I made really have to do with justice. I think everybody is entitled to be innocent until proven guilty. As somebody who was a defense attorney for President Trump, you know that’s what I believe in. I do not believe in anything other than that. Now, I will say this. The accusations against the Tate brothers are stomach-churning. They are disturbing. As I will say now, and I’ve said many times since then, that is for the court to handle and they should handle it.
Mr. Jekielek:
Basically, people have told me you said you’re a fan or something like that.
Ms. Habba:
Yes, that was a great manipulation. The Tate brothers have a tremendous social media presence, and what we were discussing was politics in the UK. He was talking about running. I am always passionate about people that are vocal against certain things. Now, I want to be very clear, that is very separate from accusations of human trafficking, accusations of rape, and whatever the accusations are against them.
You have to put that in one bucket. That really is a very disturbing charge. Now, I don’t know the status of it. I’m also a lawyer. I know better than to talk about somebody’s case. But I will say that there is no part of me that condones that behavior at all.
Mr. Jekielek:
Everyone asks you about the Epstein files, whenever you come on, because obviously, this is highly pertinent to the human trafficking issue. How have things come along? I know that you’re staying on top of this and speaking with the Attorney General and Kash Patel. What’s the update today?
Ms. Habba:
The truth is I’m not coordinating with them on their process. That’s for them to do that separate and apart from what I do. Obviously, I see them in passing. I say, do we have an update? They explain that they’re going through the files. What I try to do as a voice for them is to explain to the American people to have patience, and I’ve said this time and time again.
I understand the urge for immediate transparency to immediately tweet, screenshot, send out information. But when you are part of law and order and you are doing an investigation, you have to look at the files. You have to look at what prior attorneys did for the DOJ, and where we landed. You have to look at testimony. There is a lot there. It would be irresponsible for them not to take it seriously, despite the pressure from the American people to get it immediately. We are committed to transparency.
The best I can do for those people that are frustrated is explain that in any case with human trafficking, in any case with minors, with individuals that have been violated, that have been put through trauma, you have to do a couple of things. You have to protect them, number one. You have to go through and make sure that you’re not exploiting them. And then, of course, again, with accusations, you have to make sure, and this is what we’re committed to, is vetting accusations that are and are not verified.
Just because you’re in a Rolodex, does that mean you went to Epstein’s Island? No. Just because you were in a flight log, what does that mean? I don’t know, they have to do their process. This goes back to what I was saying, you have to go through a process. I believe in law and order. I believe justice will be served to the people that deserve it. We’re not going to shoot from the hip. We’re going to look at things methodically and take them very seriously. Unfortunately, that takes time.
Mr. Jekielek:
I can also see why you might be very sensitive to guilt by association.
Ms. Habba:
That’s exactly what I speak to. I truly understand that complaints get filed and people jump to conclusions. And people want to see, I see this a lot on Twitter, where are the arrests? Where are the arrests? Again, you have to go through a process. You have to make sure that you are vetting it. We are not Letitia James. We are not Alvin Bragg. We are going to look at things properly, look at all the evidence and bring charges where charges are due. And that will be across the board. That’s not just an Epstein thing.
That’s a problem because for four years, America was so used to people politically motivated, just flying off the cuff, filing a complaint against somebody, and then you tarnish their name. You have to deal with the repercussions of that when you lose in case or you lose it on an appeal. That’s just not how we’re going to be. We’re going to bring cases that are vetted, but that should be brought. That’s the reality.
Mr. Jekielek:
Alina, I learned that you’re Chaldean, which is quite amazing. We cover a lot of persecution of minority groups around the world here at the Epoch Times, and the Chaldeans fit into that. We’ve worked on stories with Assyrian Christians as well. Can you briefly tell me about that? Because I understand Iraq is somehow going to fit into your portfolio as well.
Ms. Habba:
Yes, obviously, my family was in the minority. We are Christians from Iraq. My parents are from Baghdad. When Saddam was in power, there was obviously, as there is now, a problem with minority religions being pushed out and persecuted. As you saw, they were burning churches, they were shooting individuals. As we’re seeing right now with Syria, it is history repeating itself.
Yes, it’s very sensitive for me. I am a first-generation American. I do not believe in religious persecution. I do not believe in persecution of anybody based on a fundamental factor of who they are, and I mean that in terms of people who are just existing as a Catholic, as a Christian, as a Chaldean, or as an Assyrian.
It’s funny, everybody wants to put me in one bucket and say, oh, she’s this. I’ve always said I’m a Middle Eastern Catholic woman. My family is religious. They are very involved in the church, and I’m proud of that. I think that religious freedoms are important.
In these countries, unfortunately, we’re seeing them be silenced, and not just silenced attacked. You can’t have that, no matter what your religion is. I really stand by that. I’m married to a man who is Jewish and I support his religion as well. I sit in temple, and I host Passover, but it’s called respect for different opinions and faiths.
Mr. Jekielek:
How does Iraq fit into your portfolio?
Ms. Habba:
Obviously I have ties there from my culture, but I think more importantly, the Middle East in general, it’s a troubling area that could be thriving to some extent if they could get out from under some of the regimes, some of the radical religions that are also attacking and persecuting them. Iraq, obviously, at one point a long time ago, was a country with infrastructure, with business and is no longer. It is one of those countries that has been left behind. There’s so much room for improvement there.
American relations with the Middle East are important for the world. It’s important for us to have good relations with everybody. And as the president has made clear, we do not want wars. We do not want to see anybody go through any kind of troubling time, such as Syria, but we’re not babysitters either. I know there was frustration in the past, and I’m going back a decade to when we did come in and disrupted some countries and these things. Those administrations made decisions based on their facts at the time.
Now is a good time to start to really make sure that, and you’ve seen this with tariffs, you’ve seen this with reciprocal behavior that the president has talked about, everybody is on the same page. We do not want to see people suffer, but we’re putting America first. Iraq is surrounded by countries that are in danger. Obviously, we are seeing militia groups that are frightening. We have to be a strong example and work with these countries.
Mr. Jekielek:
You mentioned Syria, and this is a case in point. A lot of people were happy to see this horrific Assad regime collapse, but now we see a new regime killing quite a few people out of different minorities, including Christians. Of course, the State Department has made statements on this as well. What are your thoughts here?
Ms. Habba:
Yes, exactly right. They’re surrounded by Syria. They have Iranian influence there. They have a lot of things that are a danger to the world. You have to strengthen relationships in vulnerable places to protect not only our country, but the world. I think that it’s very simple. We’re America first.
For a change, we’re America first. We’re not going to be sending our people over. We’re not sending money anymore to Ukraine. We’re not sending our people over to fix other people’s problems, but we will not allow the world’s demise because an administration turned the cheek and pretended something wasn’t happening. That is, there are parts of this world that are in danger.
Look at the videos from Syria. That is just so upsetting to me that that’s history repeating itself. As you heard, Secretary Rubio mentioned, we do not condone that. We have a UN for a reason. We have a strong president for a reason. As he always says, peace through strength.
Mr. Jekielek:
I want to ask you some quick questions that are maybe a little more fun. What were your five bullets for this week?
Ms. Habba:
Unfortunately, I can’t discuss mine. I had a lot more than five. I can give you general topics. I had several meetings on human trafficking. I am currently drafting a couple of executive orders regarding that, and I think they will be important to get this moving properly for those kids. I attended several events. I do TV. I do so many things.
For my five bullets, if you just looked at how many shows I’m on during the day, there are the five bullets. But a lot of my meetings are top secret and I can’t discuss it on TV. But my portfolio is tremendous, it’s robust, and I’m happy to be here. I’m happy to be doing some good for this country, and I’m excited to save some kids.
Mr. Jekielek:
I’m excited also to connect you with a few people that are doing amazing work in this counter child trafficking space. It’s something we’ve been covering a lot on the show. One of our opinion writers asked, what would be a crazy efficiency move you would like to whisper into DOGE’s ear?
Ms. Habba:
I wish there was a way to defund corrupt AGs and DAs and judges. I think that there are serious problems in our justice system. And if there was a way that we could expose and remove judges that were funneling, that had family members that were taking money or had influence or peddling or campaign influence and took them off the bench, that would make me very happy.
That might not be a massive cut, but for me, it’s more of a principle. I really hate what I saw the last four years. It’s really what drove me to come here into DC, to leave my family, to sacrifice some time in order to really spend here doing some good. Because we got to get the wheels back on track.
Mr. Jekielek:
Alina Habba, it’s such a pleasure to have you on the show.
Ms. Habba:
Thanks for having me.
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