HHS Inspector General To Investigate Safety And Health Protections In Shelters For Migrant Children
GAO will also launch an investigation into the way HHS tracked minors in the system. HHS and DHS have been widely criticized for a seemingly haphazard approach to family separations. In other news: a look at how separations affect children's well-being, a judge's ruling on reunification, toddlers in court by themselves, and more.
Politico:
Federal Officials Launch Two Reviews Into Trump’s Handling Of Migrant Children
The GAO and the Health and Human Services inspector general both launched reviews Wednesday into the Trump administration's handling of thousands of migrant children separated from their families at the border. The GAO told Rep. Frank Pallone (N.J.) that it will audit the systems and processes used to track families as they were separated, including how the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement monitored each minor in its care, according to a letter obtained by POLITICO. (Diamond, 6/27)
The Hill:
HHS Watchdog Launches Probe Into Conditions At Child Detention Centers
The probe will only focus on safety and health concerns, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) said Wednesday. "Specifically, this review will focus on a variety of safety- and health-related issues such as employee background screening, employees' clinical skills and training, identification and response to incidents of harm, and facility security," the OIG said. (Weixel and Bowden, 6/27)
The Associated Press:
Science Says: How Family Separation May Affect Kids' Brains
Doctors have long known that separating families and other traumatic events can damage children's well-being. More recent research has shed light on how that may happen. Severe early adversity may cause brain changes and "toxic stress." Persistent elevated stress hormones and inflammation may result in lasting health problems. (Tanner, 6/28)
Los Angeles Times:
Judge's Ruling On Migrant Children In Custody Gives Families Few Answers
Activists went without food near the border in Texas, protesters banged pots outside an immigration agency office in Washington, and Congress prepared to go on break after rejecting a potential fix as the saga of migrant children in federal custody dragged on Wednesday for another day without resolution. A day after a federal judge in San Diego ordered the Trump administration to reunite 2,042 migrant children taken from their parents and put into detention facilities at the border, no plan for bringing the families back together had emerged and the administration still had a chance to appeal the ruling. (Ulloa, Wire and Fawcett, 6/27)
The Wall Street Journal:
Separations Of Migrant Families Stopped A Week Ago, But Reunifications Have Barely Begun
A week after President Donald Trump halted the separation of families who crossed into the U.S. illegally, the process of reuniting the more than 2,000 children in custody with their parents has proved challenging. The Department of Health and Human Services has the whereabouts of all the children in its care, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement has the information about the parents, but the two government departments are still trying to link the two, according to Jonathan White, from the office of the assistant secretary for preparedness and response at HHS. (Campo-Flores and Radnofsky, 6/27)
The Associated Press:
Officials: DHS Requests 12,000 Beds To Detain Families
The Department of Homeland Security has formally requested space for up to 12,000 beds at a military base to detain families caught crossing the border illegally, the Defense Department said Wednesday. The request seeks 2,000 beds to be up and running in the next 45 days, and the remaining space to be available on an as-needed basis, the Defense Department said in a statement. (Long, 6/27)
Kaiser Health News:
Defendants In Diapers? Immigrant Toddlers Ordered To Appear In Court Alone
As the White House faces court orders to reunite families separated at the border, immigrant children as young as 3 are being ordered into court for their own deportation proceedings, according to attorneys in Texas, California and Washington, D.C. Requiring unaccompanied minors to go through deportation alone is not a new practice. But in the wake of the Trump administration’s controversial family separation policy, more young children — including toddlers — are being affected than in the past. (Jewett and Luthra, 6/27)
ProPublica:
How Family Separation Strains Employees At A Texas Child Detention Center
ProPublica spent the past several days interviewing seven current and former employees from Southwest Key facilities in Texas and Arizona who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “We have too many kids and not enough staff,” one employee said. Their observations, coupled with court, police and regulatory records, provide a window into what it’s like to work in a system pushed into overdrive, straining to serve an increasing number of traumatized kids amid the uncertainty of America’s immigration system. (Surana and Faturechi, 6/28)
Reveal:
Before Family Separations, Trump Quietly Removed Protections For Migrant Kids
Thousands of children separated from their parents after crossing the U.S. border eventually may be reunited, but children’s chances for asylum are slimmer than ever, thanks to a series of recent policy changes under the Trump administration. Many of the changes happened quietly over the last 18 months, short-circuiting opportunities for children to get help and prove whether they are entitled to refugee status or asylum. (Spivack, 6/27)
