Jordan issues subpoena to HHS over redacted information in migrant children case files

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan has issued subpoena to obtain information the Biden Administration redacted from case files of unaccompanied minors who have been accused of violent crimes in the U.S.

The Department of Health and Human Services reportedly had permitted committee investigators to examine the case files in private, but several items were redacted that pertained to the minors' appearance, such as whether they had tattoos, and the way the migrants were brought to the U.S. border.

Jordan officially announced the subpoena in a letter he wrote Tuesday to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra.

In response, an HHS spokesperson said Jordan is trying to obtain "protected health information" with the subpoena. 

"As much as we realize that House Judiciary Republicans would like to build a narrative of stonewalling, the facts remain clear: HHS already voluntarily shared the documents in question to the Committee weeks ago," the spokesperson said, according to NBC News. "The sole information sought by the Committee is the personally identifiable information, medical records, and protected health information of children."

According to the HHS spokesperson, the purpose of obtaining the "personalized information" is "unclear."