CRISIS CARETAKERS

Biden Administration Waives FBI Background Checks for Migrant Child Caregivers

The caregivers are still required to pass public record criminal background checks, which are faster but less in-depth.

In a push to rapidly expand capacity to detain and house migrant children at the U.S.-Mexico border, President Joe Biden’s administration has waived the requirement for child caregivers to pass FBI fingerprint background checks. The caregivers are still required to pass public record criminal background checks, which are faster but less in-depth. The FBI’s fingerprint checks use government criminal databases and can catch if a person has changed their name. Experts told the Associated Press the move may compromise the safety of children at the border. Attempted border crossings have risen steeply in recent months, leading to overcrowding of facilities run by Customs and Border Patrol and Health and Human Services. More than a dozen Republican senators are in the middle of a visit to the border as well. Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) said he was “absolutely stunned” after a visit to a facility that Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) called “completely overwhelmed.”