WATCH: Rick Santorum gets destroyed after his failed attempt to clean up callous remarks on immigrant kids
Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) had another bad experience on Sunday morning cable news. But when given the opportunity to explain himself or fix it, he stuck his foot in his mouth once again.
"This isn't, you know, we have lost these kids, no," Santorum said Sunday, talking about the nearly 1,500 missing children that ICE officials took from migrants. "They were placed in vetted homes. And for some reason or another, these parents are not --"
"If they're not lost where are they?" asked Patti Solis Doyle.
"The question is -- they haven't had communication with these previously vetted sponsors," Santorum tried to explain. "Does that mean they're lost? No. There is a process to see why the sponsors haven't checked in to gives their location."
When asked if he wanted an opportunity to clarify his remarks, Santorum tried to explain that it isn't that the children are lost so much as the federal government doesn't know where they are.
"The department of health and human services does not have custody of these children," he attempted to clarify. "They place them in homes and most, by the way, are relatives. The vast majority are relatives."
He then went on to blame the children for not showing up to their own court appearances.
"Let's just be honest, a lot of those kids, like a lot of other illegal immigrants, don't show up for deportation hearings, don't stay in touch with immigration services. They hide -- they go into the country and they disappear," Santorum said. "This is the consistent problem with people, through the system of catch and release. They don't return for their court date. They disappear."
Children as young as several months old have been taken by ICE and the Department of Homeland Security's officials. It is unclear how Santorum thinks a 4-year-old migrant can hire an attorney and be prepared to appear in court.
Democratic former state senator Nina Turner ripped Santorum to pieces, calling the actions by the federal government "shameful" and "immoral."
"It is a policy position being pressed by this president," she explained. "We can talk about past administrations, but President Trump has the power right now to do something about this. He's always talking about what's beautiful and what's good. Well, this is rotten to the core, to treat children like this, to make them vulnerable, to further traumatize them."
Watch the full debate below: