The Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reviewed the effectiveness of the coordination between the DHS Bureaus of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after CBP apprehends and initially holds juvenile aliens. The review included the process by which CBP informs ICE Detention and Removal Office (DRO) that a juvenile alien was apprehended, the process for transferring the juvenile alien to ICE DRO custody, and the effectiveness of the current system for transfening care and custody of unaccompanied juvenile aliens to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In addition, we assessed the progress of relevant DHS components in implementing three open recommendations from a prior Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report. The OIG concluded that DHS adhered to its responsibilities for treating apprehended juvenile aliens with dignity and concern. The department is proficient in key areas of apprehending and processing juvenile aliens, prioritizing processing and transportation of juveniles after they are apprehended, and providing appropriate information to juveniles on their legal rights. Generally, the department placed juvenile aliens in longer-term housing facilities in a timely manner. While the OIG’s overall assessment for this review is satisfactory, areas needing departmental attention include: – CBP personnel generally provided adequate access to counsel for apprehended juvenile aliens. While lists of pro bono attorneys were maintained by a nonDHS agency, information on the lists given to juveniles was not consistently accurate. – The time which juvenile aliens spent in confinerrent at CBP facilities varied significantly. There is no CBP-wide policy for reviewing and approving the extended holding of juveniles and for reporting these events to appropriate CBP officials. – Accompanied juveniles (those apprehended with their families) were separated from their families due to space limitations in “family unity” shelters. – DHS and HIEIS have not forged a sufficiently detailed agreement on their respective responsibilities for unaccompanied juvenile aliens. – It is essential that DHS clearly assign the authority for overseeing the range of its responsibilities for juvenile aliens and for sewing as an organizational liaison. – Training programs delineated in the Flores Stipulated Sefflement Agreement are insufficiently implemented and custodial records for juveniles continue to be irregularly completed and maintained. The OIG is making eight recommendations to the Undersecretary, Border and Transportation Security, to improve the management of the juvenile alien program.
