As of right now, there are another 1,500 migrant children whose whereabouts are unaccounted for. There's definitely something very wrong with this statement.

These children came to the United States this year illegally and alone. These children were first placed in federal holding and then later placed with sponsors responsible for caring for them, usually being relatives or foster parents.

The even bigger issue here is that there were already 1,475 children who were reportedly "lost" last year after being moved out of the shelters as well.

This year, Senate investigators have uncovered troubling findings that reveal that the Department of Health and Human Services could not find the exact whereabouts of 1,488 out of the 11,254 children that had been placed with sponsors this year alone.

This was determined after follow-up calls from April 1 to June 30 were not answered or returned, leaving the whereabouts of the children relatively unknown.

Most may be thinking that the location or the well-being of a child shouldn't solely rely on the response to a phone call. However, the lack of contact leaves the concern that some of the children released to sponsors may actually be ending up with human traffickers or being used as laborers by people posing as relatives.

However, the government's loophole for not being responsible for the "missing" children is the fact that they are not legally responsible for them after they have been officially released to their sponsors. They simply do a check-up call 30 days after placement to ensure the transition went well.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services, Caitlin Oakley, responded by saying "...these children are not lost. Their sponsors - who are usually parents or family members and in all cases have been vetted for criminality and ability to provide for them - simply did not respond or could not be reached when this voluntary call was made."

Both Republican and Democrat senators have decided to bring up legislation that would require officials at the Department of Health and Human Services to run background checks before placing the children with their sponsors.

Alongside providing proper care for the children, the legislation includes making sure the sponsor appears for their immigration court hearings; making the department responsible for the children even after they have been released into someone else's custody.

Lastly, it would be required for the department officials to notify state governments before migrant children are placed with sponsors in those states, in order to increase the number immigration court judges, making the processing of cases more efficient overall.

Simply imagine the frustration coursing through the parents who send their children to the United States in hopes of giving them a stronger chance to thrive. These parents not only say goodbye to their children for an unknown amount of time but then lose absolute contact with them and not even the government can find them. Definitely not okay.

Not enough is being said about this. There shouldn't be children going "missing" when in the hands of the government.