Acting ICE Director Matthew Albence said Monday on "Fox & Friends" that children are being "victimized" by drug cartels in order to allow adults to exploit U.S. immigration laws.

He explained that criminal organizations in Mexico know there is a loophole in U.S. immigration law, so adults can claim asylum as a family unit if they arrive at the border with a child.

According to the U.S. Border Patrol, there were more than 2,700 such cases between Oct. 2018 and March 2019 of migrants falsely claiming to be family units.

"We know they’re being trafficked. We know they’re being recycled and sent back across the border numerous times by the cartels to be utilized again and placed with a non-relative adult just so that adult can be released, because they know we can't hold them," he said.

Albence said despite the clear "loopholes" being exploited, Congress has refused to act to change the law.

He described the current situation at the border as a "humanitarian and national security crisis." Albence said it's not only a border security issue, emphasizing that migrants are being released and then travel to "every community" in the U.S.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says radio advertisements in Central America are encouraging a wave of migrants to come to the U.S. to pursue the "American dream."

Watch the full interview above and Maria Bartiromo's visit to the border below.

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