An independent government watchdog found serious lapses at the Department of Health and Human Services in its protection of children who migrate to the United States on their own, according to a report released Thursday. H.H.S., the federal agency responsible for sheltering migrant children when they arrive by themselves, repeatedly handed them over to adult sponsors in the United States without thorough vetting and sometimes failed to conduct timely safety checks on children once they were released, said the report by the department’s inspector general. “I would define these gaps as very serious,” said Haley Lubeck, the project leader for the review. “We know that these children are especially vulnerable to exploitation.”The findings echoed New York Times reporting that the screening of sponsors and other safeguards for migrant children broke down during the first years of the Biden administration as hundreds of thousands of children crossed the border amid a pandemic-era economic collapse in parts of Central America. Migrant children have ended up working dangerous industrial jobs in violation of child labor laws across the country — in slaughterhouses, factories, construction sites and elsewhere, The Times found.

---

Persons: H.H.S, “, ”, Haley Lubeck, Biden Organizations: Department of Health, Human Services, New York Times, Times Locations: United States, Central America, slaughterhouses