Camp for migrant children has several serious problems

A makeshift holding facility for hundreds of unaccompanied immigrant teenagers on the Texas border has a “dangerously low” number of clinicians to care for children and failed to conduct required FBI background checks on staff, according to new a federal watchdog report.

“Both issues warrant immediate attention because they pose substantial risks to children receiving care at this facility,” the Health and Human Services inspector general wrote in the report to administration officials.

Officials at Health and Human Services and one of its divisions, the Administration for Children and Families, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. BCFS, the Texas nonprofit contracted to run the facility, did not return a message seeking comment.

The Tornillo Influx Facility was opened in June to hold as many as 1,800 migrants between 13 and 17 years old before they can be placed in more permanent shelters. The government has committed up to $430 million to more than double its capacity and keep it open at least through the end of the year, the report said.

The camp, which is near El Paso, was established after the Trump administration began separating families who had crossed the border illegally. It wasn’t meant to be permanent, so it’s “devoid of permanent infrastructure, such as fixed facilities for housing, dining, and toileting, and all utilities,” the report said.

Because it’s on federal property, Tornillo is not required to be licensed by the state of Texas, as permanent shelters would be. That means that U.S. authorities are responsible for enforcing standards to ensure the safety of children there.

The 1,300 staff and contractors running the camp were not subject to FBI background checks and searches for accusations of child maltreatment, the OIG reported. Both are typically required for federal facilities caring for unaccompanied minors.

Workers were given more cursory background checks by a private vendor, but not the comprehensive fingerprint FBI checks required, the report said, adding that Trump administration officials were not aware that Tornillo wasn’t doing fingerprint checks.