June 22, 2018The Honorable Steven Wagner Acting Assistant SecretaryAdministration for hildren and !amilies"#S# $e%artment of Health and Human Services&&0 Street, SWWashington, $## 20201$ear 'r# Wagner(As Americans continue to %rocess the realities of your Administration)s immigration %olicies, *e*rite *ith additional concerns about the treatment of immigrant children currently or %reviously detained in government facilities# S%ecifically, *e see+ information about allegations of *ides%read %hysical and %sychological abuse at the Shenandoah alley Juvenile enter -SJ. near Staunton, irginia# An Associated /ress story details the a%%alling accusations against the facility)s %ersonnel for systematic beatings, restraints, solitary confinement, and verbal abuse based on s*orn statementsin federal court filings#
n those statements, a halfdoen immigrant children allege that guards %unished them for minor infractions such as %roviding S%anish translations and %ic+ing u% a %encil after being ordered not to move# 3uards used heinous and unconscionable methods of %unishments such as stri%%ing them of their clothes, restraining them to chairs *ith bags over their heads, and sub4ecting them to beatings and solitary confinement#
n late A%ril, 5elsey Wong, the /rogram $irector for the unaccom%anied children %rogram at SJ, testified before the /ermanent Subcommittee on nvestigations in an oversight hearing about %rotecting these children from human traffic+ing and abuse# Her testimony e6acerbates our concerns because she testified that many of these immigrant children landed in the secure facilityon sus%icions of gang affiliation *ith 7little evidence or selfre%orted membershi%#
She further testified that 79*:e do a disservice to children *hen they are mislabeled as ganginvolved individuals, and recommended the $e%artment of Homeland Security -$HS. and the ;ffice of <efugee <esettlement -;<<. 7thoroughly vet youth %rior to their %lacement in to custody, including their status as an unaccom%anied individual and %ossible ganginvolvement#
The official o%ined that a residential treatment unit might better serve these immigrant youths#
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'ichael >iesec+er et al#,
Young immigrants detained in Virginia center allege abuse
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Id.
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Oversight of HHS and DHS Efforts to Protect Unaccompanied lien !hildren from Human "raffic#ing and buse $efore the Permanent Subcomm. on Investigations of the S. !omm. on Homeland Securit% and &overnmental ffairs
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ong# & -2018. -statement of 5elsey <# Wong, /rogram $irector and /ro4ect $irector, Shenandoah alley Juvenile enter.#
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Id.
onsistent *ith the official)s testimony, the court filings are re%orted to confirm that immigrant children in this facility suffer from mental health needs after fleeing violence and abuse in their home countries# ;ne immigrant teen said he left 'e6ico and sought asylum in 201 from an abusive father and violence by drug cartels# He arrived in the Shenandoah center in A%ril 201B, *hich diagnosed him *ith three mental disorders, including de%ression# As you can imagine, our concerns stem from the fact that your agency is tas+ed *ith caring for unaccom%anied immigrant youths after $HS a%%rehends them for unla*ful entry# Though *e understand that these alleged abuses too+ %lace at a locallyo%erated facility, your agency ultimately has oversight and must ensure that these facilities com%ly *ith standards for *hen andho* to %hysically engage these youths#We reFuest a %ersonal meeting *ith you as *ell as the follo*ing information from your agency(1.What authority dictates the standard of care facilities must %rovide unaccom%anied minors in terms of nutrition, education, and medical attentionG What does that standard reFuireG2.According to re%orts and recent ongressional testimony, in A%ril the SJ near Staunton, irginia housed &= unaccom%anied children &0 males and four females# Ho*many unaccom%anied children referred from your agency are currently there no*Ga.Ho* long have these children been in the facilityG And did any of them arrive after being se%arated from their families under the Administration)s 7ero tolerance %olicyG &.What is the ratio of guards to children at the enterG $o agencys%ecific standards mandate this ratioGa.What is the hiring %rocess for guards at this facilityG s this consistent *ith other ;<<licensed facilitiesG b.What training do guards receive *hen they are hired, and do they continue to receive training over the course of their em%loymentG=.What standards govern youth)s access to bilingual staff or %rofessional inter%retation and translation servicesG $oes the enter have an adeFuate number of em%loyees *ho are ca%able of communicating *ith detainees *ho are limited in their ?nglish %roficiencyG.s there a system for com%laints against guards or other %ersonnel at the enterGa.;n average, ho* many com%laints are filed against guards and other %ersonnelG b.Ho* many com%laints of %hysical or emotional abuse have you received since contracting *ith ;<< in 200CGc.What is the disci%linary system if guards and %ersonnel violate these standardsG