HC Wake-Up Call: Thousands Of Immigrants Allegedly Sexually Assaulted In U.S. Custody, Michael Cohen To Publicly Testify To Congress, & Joe Biden’s Family Wants A Presidential Run

Good morning Her Campus! With a break-neck news cycle, there is no possible way for you to stay on top of every story that comes across your feeds — we’re all only human, after all. 

But, life comes at you fast. So grab a cup of coffee and settle in for this quick and dirty guide to stories you might’ve been sleeping on (like, literally. It’s early.) 

Thousands Of Immigrant Children Say They’ve Been Sexually Abused While In U.S. Custody 

The Department of Justice and Health and Human Services released new data on Tuesday, revealing that there have been more than 5,000 allegations of unaccompanied migrant children being sexually abused while in U.S.  government custody, Axios reports. 

“The safety of minors is our top concern when administering our unaccompanied alien children program,” said HHS spokeswoman Caitlin Oakley to Axios. “These are vulnerable children in difficult circumstances, and ORR fully understands its responsibility to ensure that each child is treated with the utmost care. When any allegations of abuse, sexual abuse, or neglect are made, they are taken seriously and ORR acts swiftly to investigate and respond.” 

The House Judiciary Committee requested the information in the documents that HHS provided, NPR reports. The documents provide the last four years, and the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement received 4,556 allegations of sexual abuse of unaccompanied immigrant children in custody. The DOJ received 1,303 complaints in the same time frame. 

According to NBC News, there have been other reports of migrant children being sexually abused in detention facilities. Axios reports that ProPublica received 125 reports of immigrant children being sexually abused in government custody over the last five years. 

But the numbers given on Tuesday’s report suggest that this is a greater problem than originally reported. 

Michael Cohen Will Accuse President Trump Of Criminal Conduct While In Office 

On Wednesday, President Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, will publicly testify in front of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, The New York Times reports. 

In 2017, Cohen pleaded guilty last year to lying to the Senate Intelligence Committee about negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow during the presidential campaign. He is now cooperating with Robert Mueller’s special counsel and will present evidence of alleged “criminal conduct” by Trump while in office to the House Oversight Committee that was “stumbled across within the last 48 hours,” Axios reports.

“Disgraced felon Michael Cohen is going to prison for lying to Congress and making other false statements,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said per Axios. “Sadly, he will go before Congress this week and we can expect more of the same. It’s laughable that anyone would take a convicted liar like Cohen at his word, and pathetic to see him given yet another opportunity to spread his lies.”

According to The New York Times, Cohen and his legal team is expected to give the committee several of Trump’s private financial statements. This will reportedly reveal how the president increased his assets for business and personal reasons; and Axios reports it will include his assets, liabilities, and net worth. 

Cohen will also reportedly divulge how long Trump stayed involved in discussions about the plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, as well as explain the conversations he had with Trump about the project.

Joe Biden Is “Very Close” To Making His 2020 Decision

On Tuesday, Joe Biden provided supports some clarification on whether or not he will run for president in 2020. 

In a discussion with author Jon Meacham at the Biden School of Public Policy and Administration at the University of Delaware, the former vice president said there’s a “consensus” among his family that he should join the Democratic primary race.

“I’ll just tell you straight up,” Biden said per NPR. “I know the people of Delaware may not be surprised by this, but others might. We do everything by family meetings, because no man or woman has a right to run for high public office without it being a family decision. And from being pushed — pushed, prodded — by my son Hunter, and my wife Jill, and my daughter, there is … we just had a family meeting with all the grandkids, too. And there’s a consensus that, I should, they want — they, the most important people in my life — want me to run.”

Biden also emphasized that he is “very close” to a final decision on launching a campaign. “I have not made the final decision, but don’t be surprised,” he said. 

What To Look Out For….

Someone made Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez into a comic book superhero, and it is absolutely amazing.