According to a report from the HHS Office of the Inspector General, unaccompanied illegal alien children who were temporarily housed at a Texas military base last year suffered distress, anxiety, and panic attacks without receiving services prioritizing their safety and well-being.
According to the IG report released last month, investigators found that some illegal alien minors housed at Fort Bliss in 2021 were waiting weeks before hearing from case managers due to the backlog of cases, pandemic-related manpower shortages, and lack of trained staff. The delays caused “a pervasive sense of despair” among the minors who reported experiencing “distress, anxiety, and in some cases, panic attacks,” the report said.
The Fort Bliss emergency site was opened in March 2021 to provide short-term care for unaccompanied minors flooding over the border after Joe Biden took office.
By May 2021, 700 children housed at Fort Bliss had not been seen by a case manager for nearly60 days. The IG’s investigation included analyses of documents, a visit to Fort Bliss in June 2021, and interviews with 66 staffers from June 11 to December 17.
However, since then, things at Fort Bliss are “night and day” compared to 2021, according to an unnamed HHS official who spoke with Reuters.
There are currently 589 children housed at Fort Bliss, most of them staying on average 13 days before being released to a parent or sponsor, the official said. With the onset of Biden’s border crisis, Health and Human Service had to open a total of 14 unlicensed temporary emergency sites to house illegal aliens, including military bases like Fort Bliss.
Illegal minors sent to these unlicensed short-term facilities described overcrowding, spoiled food, lack of clean clothing, and mental depression. In January, HHS closed twelve of the 14 locations.
In May and June of this year, HHS converted the remaining two sites, Fort Bliss and Pecos, to influx care facilities which must meet minimum standards for licensed facilities.
Read the report HERE. Wayback Machine (archive.org)
