Fox’s Jacqui Heinrich Spars With KJP Over Referral to HHS on Border Stats: No New ‘Data On This Since January’

Fox News’s Jacqui Heinrich and White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre sparred on Friday after the latter referred Heinrich to the Department of Health and Human Services for statistics on how many migrant children are currently in U.S. custody at the southern border.

Earlier in the day, HHS confirmed that a 17-year-old Honduran named Ángel Eduardo Maradiaga Espinoza died in its custody.

“Can you tell us how many migrant children are presently in U.S. custody?” asked Heinrich.

“I would refer you to the HHS, I don’t have those numbers in front of me,” replied Jean-Pierre.

Heinrich had a ready-made answer for that response. “Their website has not reported any data on this since January and they’re typically reported once a month so in light, especially of this migrant death of a child a couple of days ago, just wanna know why that data’s not there and if it’s being kept somewhere else — if it’ll be released to us,” she pressed.

Jean-Pierre expressed her condolences to Espinoza’s family before explaining that the data is “something that comes from HHS.”

“Will the administration be working to track that down cause, especially after the New York Times report that HHS lost contact with 85,000 children over the course of the last two years and lost immediate contact with a third of migrant children, that data not being there is alarming,” shot back Heinrich.

An HHS spokesman commented on the report at the time by observing that “there are numerous places along the process to continually ensure that a placement is in the best interest of the child.”

“I expect HHS to provide that that data. That is something that they would have to share with you,” reiterated Jean-Pierre.

The pair’s exchange came a day after the expiration of Title 42 — a pandemic-era public health order that allowed authorities to quickly expel migrants — and three days after over 11,000 migrants were apprehended while trying to cross into the country, a single-day record.

Watch the full clip above via Fox News.