New York Times
By Emmarie Huetteman
January 28, 2016
The
Department of Health and Human Services placed more than a dozen
immigrant children in the custody of human traffickers after it failed
to conduct background checks
of caregivers, according to a Senate report released on Thursday.
Examining
how the federal agency processes minors who arrive at the border
without a guardian, lawmakers said they found that it had not followed
basic practices of child
welfare agencies, like making home visits.
The
Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations opened its inquiry
after law enforcement officials uncovered a human trafficking ring in
Marion, Ohio, last year.
At least six children were lured to the United States from Guatemala
with the promise of a better life, then were made to work on egg farms.
The children, as young as 14, had been in federal custody before being
entrusted to the traffickers.
“It
is intolerable that human trafficking — modern-day slavery — could
occur in our own backyard,” said Senator Rob Portman, Republican of Ohio
and the chairman of the
subcommittee. “But what makes the Marion cases even more alarming is
that a U.S. government agency was responsible for delivering some of the
victims into the hands of their abusers.”
In
addition to the Marion cases, the investigation found evidence that 13
other children had been trafficked after officials handed them over to
adults who were supposed
to care for them during their immigration proceedings. An additional 15
cases exhibited some signs of trafficking.
The
report also said that it was unclear how many of the approximately
90,000 children the agency had placed in the past two years fell prey to
traffickers, including
sex traffickers, because it does not keep track of such cases.
“Whatever
your views on immigration policy, everyone can agree that the
administration has a responsibility to ensure the safety of the migrant
kids that have entered
government custody until their immigration court date,” Mr. Portman
said.
In
the fall of 2013, thousands of unaccompanied children began showing up
at the southern border. Most risked abuse by traffickers and detention
by law enforcement to
escape dire problems like gang violence and poverty in Central America.
As
detention centers struggled to keep up with the influx, the Department
of Health and Human Services began placing children in the custody of
sponsors who could help
them while their immigration cases were reviewed. Many children who did
not have relatives in the United States were placed in a system
resembling foster care.
But
officials at times did not examine whether an adult who claimed to be a
relative actually was, relying on the word of parents, who, in some
cases, went along with
the traffickers to pay off smuggling debts.
Responding
to the report, the Department of Health and Human Services said it had
taken measures to strengthen its system, collecting information to
subject potential
sponsors and additional caregivers in a household to criminal
background checks.
Mark
Greenberg, the agency’s acting assistant secretary of the
Administration for Children and Families, said it had bolstered other
screening procedures and increased
resources for minors.
“We
are mindful of our responsibilities to these children and are
continually looking for ways to strengthen our safeguards,” he said.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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