Watchdog Group Sues HHS for Documents Related to Military Installations Intended to House Migrant Children
Lawsuit filed as children continue to report physical, sexual abuse at HHS facilities
08.06.18 — On Thursday, Equity Forward filed suit against Secretary Alex Azar’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for public records related to how the agency planned to detain and shelter children separated from their parents at the border due to the Trump administration “zero tolerance policy.” Equity Forward is requesting documents related to the agency’s plan to use military installations and bases in Texas and Arkansas to potentially house children in tent cities. Since Equity Forward filed its request in May, HHS announced it would detain children in at least one tent city on military property near El Paso, Texas.
Equity Forward’s lawsuit was filed as various media outlets report on serious abuse at HHS facilities: one six year old girl reported being sexually abused at an HHS detention center in Arizona while an employee at another Arizona facility was arrested for sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl. After reviewing hundreds of police reports and call logs concerning more than 70 of the approximately 100 immigrant youth shelters, ProPublica found “hundreds of allegations of sexual offenses, fights and missing children.” Indeed, one of the shelters visited by Secretary Azar and First Lady Melania Trump at the height of the crisis has a history of delaying medical care and been cited with serious deficiencies by state inspectors this year. These reports fly in the face of Secretary Azar’s claims on CNN last month that these children are “happy, they are loved, they are cared for, it is a compassionate environment.”
“Where did HHS officials plan on detaining and housing the thousands of children cruelly ripped from their families at the border? Were they anticipating such a huge influx due to “zero tolerance” that its current locations weren’t adequate? And which organizations would ultimately run these new temporary installations?” said Mary Alice Carter, Executive Director of Equity Forward.
“Answers to these questions become increasingly important as children continue to report horrifying instances of physical and sexual abuse at HHS detention centers. HHS has so far been remarkably opaque about its care of these children, with Sec. Azar instead offering rosy accounts of children happily eating snacks and playing sports. Americans are demanding to know more about how these children are cared for and it’s on Azar to offer a full accounting of the conditions and decision making process at his agency.”
Equity Forward’s request asks for the following materials:
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Travel records concerning trips taken by HHS officials in Texas, Arkansas, or any other state concerning military installations intended to shelter undocumented immigrant children or unaccompanied minors;
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Information on scheduled meetings involving HHS officials with other federal officials or personnel responsible for sheltering unaccompanied minors;
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All correspondence involving HHS officials pertaining to the house of children in military installations;
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Written materials related to HHS officials’ participation in site visits at any and all military installations and/or bases in Texas and Arkansas or any other state;
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Communication between specific HHS officials — including HHS Secretary Alex Azar, Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) Director Scott Lloyd, HHS Deputy Secretary Eric Hargan, Acting Assistant Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Steven Wagner, and Counselor for Human Services Policy in the Office of the Secretary Maggie Wynne — and Defense (DOD) officials, and;
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Communication between specific HHS officials — including HHS Secretary Alex Azar, Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) Director Scott Lloyd, HHS Deputy Secretary Eric Hargan, Acting Assistant Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Steven Wagner, and Counselor for Human Services Policy in the Office of the Secretary Maggie Wynne — and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials.
The suit comes after Azar’s HHS failed to substantively respond to Equity Forward’s Freedom of Information Act Requests (FOIA filed in May 2018. Today’s filing marks the sixth lawsuit Equity Forward has filed to hold HHS accountable for its failure to comply with open records laws.
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