Biden admin failed to properly screen staff at emergency centers for unaccompanied migrant children: watchdog

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The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) often did not conduct background checks on workers staffing emergency centers for unaccompanied migrant children as numbers spiked dramatically in 2021, according to a report by the agency’s inspector general.

The Office of Inspector General visited 10 of the 14 emergency intake sites (EIS) and one of the influx care facilities (ICF) that were set up in early 2021 as numbers of unaccompanied minors coming to the southern border rocketed amid a broader migrant crisis that is still underway two years later.

Minors encountered without accompanying adults are transferred from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody to HHS, at which point the agency attempts to quickly release them to a sponsor already in the U.S. -- typically a parent or relative.

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Young unaccompanied migrants, wait for their turn at the secondary processing station inside the U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility, the main detention center for unaccompanied children in the Rio Grande Valley, in Donna, Texas, Tuesday, March 30, 2021. .(AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills, Pool) ((AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills, Pool))

In FY 2021, HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) received over 122,000 referrals of UACs from DHS, up dramatically from over 19,000 in FY20.

The watchdog found that of a sample of 229 background checks at the intake sites, only 30 of 229 employees had an FBI fingerprint check conducted in a timely manner, only 9 had a timely background check for child abuse and neglect, and only 25 of 78 had a DOJ sex offender registry check conducted in a timely manner. Others were either not conducted or conducted late.

"For some employees, ORR’s ICF and EISs did not conduct or document all required background checks or did not conduct the checks in a timely manner. In addition, ORR did not require the transportation services contractor we reviewed to conduct background checks on employees as required by ORR minimum standards," the report said.

The OIG attributed the issues to the agency having to rapidly set up facilities to quickly expand capacity, while still developing policies and procedures. The watchdog recommended measures to ensure background checks were conducted, that guidance be clarified, and that there be reviews of compliance with necessary guidance

In its response, HHS highlighted the challenges in dealing with what it called a "historic influx" compounded by the spread of COVID-19 that reduced capacity and also building additional capacity. It noted that the agency is now not operating any emergency intake centers.

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It also defended a controversial move to waive requirements for some background checks for contractors and volunteers, which it said had been creating a bottleneck at a crucial time.

"Without waivers that allowed ORR to swiftly and safely staff new facilities, children would have experienced even longer delays -- perhaps weeks or months longer -- in DHS custody compounded by COVID-19 risks, in facilities that were not built to house children," the government response said. "Though this is an inherent tension, such waivers allowed ORR to staff EIS without sacrificing safeguards to protect children."

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The agency said that it concurs with the recommendation and had initiated required background checks on employees who were not conducted before they were hired. It also says the agency is working to find "more efficient ways to address barriers to the timeliness of background check adjudication and is working in real-time to issue, spot and improve its process."

The report comes as whistleblowers and lawmakers on the Hill have raised concerns about the vetting of sponsors after a series of New York Times reports documented an "explosive" rise in child migrants being trafficked into the workforce after being released to sponsors who were not properly vetted. 

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Meanwhile, the Title 42 public health order is scheduled to end next week – which is expected to bring with it a new, and possibly historic, migrant surge.