Records Indicate Abuse Complaints Rarely Result In Discipline For Workers Caring For Migrant Kids
There have been hundreds of allegations of abuse or mistreatment, yet only one Department of Homeland Security employee was disciplined. A federal judge found the records disturbing and ordered the names of the accused agents made public. The government is trying to fight the decision.
ProPublica:
Over 200 Allegations Of Abuse Of Migrant Children; 1 Case Of Homeland Security Disciplining Someone
From 2009 to 2014, at least 214 complaints were filed against federal agents for abusing or mistreating migrant children. According to the Department of Homeland Security’s records, only one employee was disciplined as a result of a complaint. The department’s records, which have alarmed advocates for migrants given the more aggressive approach to the treatment of minors at the border under the current administration, emerged as part of a federal lawsuit seeking the release of the names of the accused agents. (Thompson, 5/31)
In other news —
The Associated Press:
Advocates Decry Delays In Release Of Migrant Kids
Immigrant advocates say the U.S. government is allowing migrant children at a Florida facility to languish in "prison-like conditions" after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border instead of releasing them promptly to family as required by federal rules. A court filing Friday revealed conditions inside the Homestead, Florida, facility that has become the nation's biggest location for detaining immigrant children. A decades-old settlement governing the care of detained immigrant children calls for them to be released to family members, sponsors or other locations within 20 days, but the court filing accuses the government of keeping kids there for months in some cases. (Gomez Licon and Taxin, 5/31)
The Associated Press:
As Trump Threatens Tariffs, Migrant Families Keep Coming
On Wednesday, Border Patrol agents near downtown El Paso encountered a group of 1,036 migrants who had entered the country illegally — the biggest cluster the agency has ever seen. At one point in May, a holding cell designed for 35 migrants was crammed with 155. Six children have died in U.S. custody since September, three in the past month. U.S. authorities are overstretched and overwhelmed by an unprecedented surge of Central American families arriving at the southern border. (Attanasio and Spagat, 5/31)
