Migrant children didn't receive intended health screenings from CBP, accountability report finds

U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
(Image credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has not consistently overseen health screening policies at its southwest border facilities, meaning some migrant children did not receive health screenings as intended, a Government Accountability Office report found.

The report, which was prompted by the deaths of three children in CBP custody in 2019, also determined the agency misused funds earmarked for medical care by spending the money on things like its canine program, printers and speakers, and motorcycles and dirt bikes (some officials reportedly believed they could use the funds for any goods or services they considered to be in the best interest of those in custody.) Further, the investigation reveals the CBP "does not have reliable information on deaths, serious injuries, and suicide attempts and has not consistently reported deaths of individuals in custody to Congress."

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.