FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 28, 2022

Inspector General Validates Whistleblower Reports of Gross Mismanagement at Site Holding Thousands of Unaccompanied Immigrant Children

Government Accountability Project Credited for Reports on Abuses at HHS Emergency Intake Site Harming Children 

WASHINGTON—Yesterday, September 27, 2022, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released its long-awaited report into the horrific conditions for unaccompanied children at the Emergency Intake Site (EIS) at Fort Bliss, in El Paso, Texas, operated by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). The investigation by the OIG was spurred in substantial part by whistleblower complaints from several federal employees who volunteered at the Fort Bliss EIS in 2021 and who are represented by Government Accountability Project.

In early 2021, there had been an unprecedented increase in unaccompanied children arriving at the U.S. southern border.  In response, HHS opened the Fort Bliss EIS as a temporary holding facility.  The nearly 16-month OIG investigation opened in response to “[m]embers of Congress, child welfare advocates, and staff at ORR facilities [who] raised concerns about inadequate case management at the ORR EIS at Fort Bliss and its adverse effect on children’s well-being and their safe and timely release to sponsors.” The report elaborates on the assistance rendered by the Government Accountability Project’s whistleblower clients:

Among these reports were multiple letters to OIG from the Government Accountability Project … in which several Federal employees who had volunteered for temporary assignments at the ORR EIS at Fort Bliss shared concerns about case management and child safety. The reports described overwhelming noise levels; extreme weather such as dust storms and high temperatures; and unsanitary conditions. These reports also alleged that [staff] at the facility were ill-prepared to provide adequate case management services, which adversely affected children’s mental health as well as the quality of case management that the children received. Some reports alleged that staff at the ORR EIS at Fort Bliss were discouraged from raising issues about case management and child safety, leading to concerns about the potential violation of whistleblower protection laws.

OIG confirmed these reports, finding: (i) open positions in the EIS were rapidly filled with case managers who lacked relevant skills and experience; (ii) ORR did not provide these inexperienced case managers with adequate training; (iii) ORR rapidly removed safeguards that may have increased children’s risk of release to unsafe sponsors; (iv) deficiencies in the case management tracking system may have put children’s safety at risk; and (v) reported acts of potential retaliation and whistleblower chilling may have affected staff’s willingness to share feedback with ORR management who might have been better able to remedy problems. The Fort Bliss EIS was converted to an “influx care facility” bound by minimum standards of care in May 2022.

Government Accountability Project welcomes the OIG’s report. We remain concerned, however, that the review of Fort Bliss only included the period of March 30-June 30, 2021. While the report focuses heavily on case management operations, it fails to mention the inexperience and lack of qualifications or training for those responsible for supervising children at the EIS. The report also suggests that many problems during the brief review period were due to the convergence of a specific increase in minors in custody and the COVID-19 pandemic and fails to consider systemic and ongoing problems at Fort Bliss and other emergency or influx HHS operations.

Government Accountability Project’s David Seide, co-counsel for the Fort Bliss whistleblowers noted:

“On behalf of our many courageous clients, we submitted no less than four reports to Congress and federal oversight agencies detailing the many instances of shocking mismanagement and mistreatment of unaccompanied children.  It is gratifying to see OIG’s validation of our client’s information. However, this case is not closed.  The issues here are likely to recur in other venues. It is incumbent upon HHS and the other federal immigration agencies to learn from this report and adhere to OIG’s recommendations. Most importantly, the rights of whistleblowers must be safeguarded.”

Government Accountability Project’s Senior Counsel Dana Gold and co-counsel for the Fort Bliss clients stated:

“Workers at the site were vital to bringing oversight to address the gross mismanagement at the Fort Bliss EIS that was endangering children. As federal detailees rather than direct employees of ORR or the contractors with no expertise in childcare that ORR hired to oversee the operation, they were less vulnerable to professional retaliation and thankfully chose to speak up despite the threats to stay silent. Whistleblowers were—and will continue to be—critical to ensuring that HHS and its contractors fulfill their responsibility to care for the unaccompanied children in their custody. The training of ORR staff—and contractors—at all levels should be implemented immediately.”

Contact: Andrew Harman, Communications Director
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (202) 926-3304

Government Accountability Project is the nation’s leading whistleblower protection organization. Through litigating whistleblower cases, publicizing concerns and developing legal reforms, Government Accountability Project’s mission is to protect the public interest by promoting government and corporate accountability. Founded in 1977, Government Accountability Project is a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C.

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