CEO of Goya Bob Unanue and Fox News contributor Sara Carter join ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ to discuss the Goya Cares initiative, teaming up with Tom Homan to locate missing migrant children.
Goya Foods CEO and President Bob Unanue announced his departure from the Hispanic-owned, New Jersey-based food company on Monday.
Unanue, who also was an executive producer on the film “Sound of Freedom,” recently teamed up with President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, to help locate trafficked migrant children through the initiative “Goya Cares.” He served as president and CEO for nearly 20 years and worked for Goya Foods for a total of 48 years.
He released a statement claiming he was “left in limbo” by the board. Unanue said Monday that he was informed that there had been a vote by the board about his “employment” as president of the company and “currently has no real answers” regarding “the nature of the decision and the rationale behind it.”
Unanue said the company has not publicly indicated that he is no longer the leader of Goya Foods.
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Goya Foods President Bob Unanue speaks at the official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new company headquarters in Jersey City on Wednesday, April 29, 2015. (Ron Antonelli/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“The uncertainty at Goya Foods will not deter me from making the world aware of the evils of child trafficking, and I will not rest until the over 325,000 children lost over the last 2 years are recovered. As in the past, I will work with the current administration in putting an end to the extremely lucrative but purely evil industry,” Unanue said in a statement. “I will not be silenced. I will not give in to those who want me to give up the fight. We cannot remain passive spectators while soulless, despicable animals treat children with callous indifference.”
Unanue referenced the estimated more than 300,000 unaccompanied migrant children deemed unaccounted for under the Biden administration after being released from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) custody. Homan and other Trump administration officials raised concerns over the figure, which stemmed from an August 2024 DHS inspector general report.
An audit revealed that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) transferred more than 448,000 unaccompanied minors to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from the fiscal years 2019 to 2023. Yet, ICE reported that more than 32,000 of those unaccompanied minors failed to show up for their immigration court hearings during that timeframe. As of May 2024, ICE had not served notices to appear for more than 290,000 unaccompanied minors who therefore did not yet have immigration court dates, the report said.
Unanue also announced his departure from Goya Foods on X.
An American flag flies outside the Goya Foods Inc. corporate office and distribution warehouse in Jersey City, New Jersey, on Monday, April 23, 2018. (Timothy Fadek/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“I recently received news that came as a big surprise: the board at Goya decided I would no longer be a leader of the company. While the decision has left many questions unanswered, one thing is certain – I will not waver in my fight against child trafficking,” he wrote Monday. “In just two years, more than 325,000 children have been lost – these are not just numbers, but our sons and daughters, stolen from their families. I will not stand by while this crisis continues. I will not back down. The fight continues.”
“This mission is bigger than any title. For nearly 48 years, I’ve dedicated my life to serving our communities and fighting evil wherever it rears its head. Regardless of my future with Goya Foods, I will not be silenced as trafficking is one such evil we simply cannot ignore,” Unanue said.
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In a follow-up thread, he continued, “I’m grateful for my work on ‘Sound of Freedom’ and through initiatives like Goya Cares that will continue to drive the purpose God intended for me: to expose trafficking networks and rescue the innocent. No board decision can shake my resolve. I remain fully committed to raising awareness, holding traffickers accountable, and ensuring a safer future for our nation’s children. Join me in this fight against one of the greatest evils of our time. GODS CHILDREN ARE NOT FOR SALE!”
Asked about Unanue’s announcement, a Goya spokesperson told Fox News Digital the “family-owned, privately held” company has a policy not to comment on internal operations.
“However, Goya’s recent decision regarding a change in leadership has absolutely no connection to politics or media appearances,” the company spokesperson added. “For nearly 90 years, Goya has been committed to producing high-quality products and supporting our communities through philanthropic endeavors and will continue to do so in the future.”
In an appearance on Fox News last month, Unanue announced that Goya had teamed up with Homan on the “Goya Cares” initiative.
Trump border czar, Tom Homan, speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“This last administration was actively bringing this in. We’ve gone from 85,000 missing to 340,000, but they’re not missing. They’ve been sold. They’re purchased, basically, and then handed off to sponsors. Forty children at one address – that’s not a home, it’s a business,” Unanue said at the time.
The makers of “Sound of Freedom,” a 2023 thriller movie about a U.S. federal agent’s journey into the Colombian jungle to rescue a girl from child traffickers, accused the media and the film industry of trying to prevent the movie from being widely released in theaters. Some outlets claimed the movie was disseminating QAnon conspiracy theories.
The movie was based on the work of Tim Ballard, a former DHS special agent and founder of Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.), an anti-sex trafficking organization.
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Ballard stepped down as CEO of the organization in 2023 amid allegations of sexual misconduct from former employees. He has denied those claims and counter-sued for alleged defamation.
Fox News Digital reached out to Goya Foods for comment but did not immediately hear back.
