2026-04-16T09:00:55.312Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/16/politics/migrant-children-shelter-abuse-allegations
纽约一家曾收容移民儿童的设施面临身体虐待指控，其中包括将部分儿童单独关押在所谓的“红色房间”内，据多名向CNN透露该收容所情况的消息人士透露。
据其中两名消息人士透露，联邦消息人士和儿童福利专家的描述显示，近年来该机构对疑似行为问题采取了严厉的惩罚措施，促使卫生与公众服务部难民救援办公室（ORR）启动内部审查。该办公室负责照料移民儿童。
这家名为“儿童村”的收容所在纽约州拥有多个校区，服务包括美国公民在内的儿童，不过虐待指控均涉及多布斯费里校区对移民儿童的待遇。儿童村自2004年起开始收容无人陪伴的移民儿童。
一名熟悉相关情况的消息人士称，据称有儿童遭到一个“特殊”安保小队的殴打，有时甚至是在监控摄像头的盲区。他们还被违反安全规程地约束长达数分钟。儿童还曾被强行带至某房间作为惩罚。
长期以来，联邦政府一直资助儿童村这类收容所，照料那些独自穿越美墨边境——或是近期在境内移民执法行动中被单独留下的——移民儿童，直到他们能与在美国的担保人（如父母）团聚。
过去一年里，特朗普政府加大了父母和监护人从政府监护下接走子女的难度，并指示联邦探员询问移民青少年是否愿意自愿离境。
然而，儿童村的问题似乎早在特朗普政府执政前就已存在，并在近几个月持续发酵。
CNN援引了多份消息源，包括联邦机构内部文件、儿童福利专家、现任及前任HHS官员，以及熟悉儿童村情况的消息人士，以记录针对该收容所的指控。
在向CNN发表的一份声明中，儿童村的一位发言人表示：“我们对任何形式的体罚零容忍。”
“所有在我们照料下的青少年都应得到每一位负责其福祉的成年人提供的最高水准的照料、支持和专业服务。关于员工行为不端的指控令人深感不安，一旦收到此类举报，我们会立即向当局报告。我们将采取一切必要措施，确保任何被发现存在不当行为的员工都将受到适当且毫不迟疑的处理，”该发言人补充道。
据CNN查阅的HHS内部文件显示，这家多年来收容了数百名12岁及以上移民儿童的收容所已于1月下旬停止接收儿童，原在其照料下的儿童已被转移至其他机构，原因是“严重的儿童福利问题”。
一名被转至其他机构的青少年回忆称，他在一个自称“红色房间”的地方独自度过了四天，房间里有红灯，没有门。该说法是在1月初向一名收容所临床医生透露的，且已由CNN核实。
在这四天里，该青少年表示他没有洗澡，仅被提供面包作为食物。这名男孩称，房间位于收容所安保人员办公室附近，因此工作人员在他被关押期间可以监视他。
该青少年还回忆起一个所谓的“特殊”小队，会在发生斗殴或需要使用约束措施时介入。他说自己曾被推倒在地并遭到殴打，还被约束了近20次。
在向CNN发表的声明中，HHS发言人安德鲁·尼克松表示，难民救援办公室“极其严肃地对待所有涉及其所照料儿童的不当行为指控”。
“收到与该设施相关的指控后，ORR立即采取行动，将所有无人陪伴的儿童转移至其他地点，并将此事提交给适当的联邦调查机构。ORR照料下的儿童的安全和福祉是首要任务，任何可信的担忧都会得到迅速且彻底的处理，”尼克松补充道。
据儿童福利专家透露，多名曾在该设施内的青少年分享了关于“特殊”小队的类似经历。两名消息人士称，近年来已就该小队涉嫌实施身体虐待的应对措施向纽约当局提出担忧。
穿越南部边境的无人陪伴未成年人可能很快将失去关键的法律服务
3:40 • 消息来源：CNN
一名熟悉儿童村情况的消息人士称，该收容所去年从其他ORR服务机构接收了有严重行为问题的未成年人，他们有时需要采取身体干预措施，并称这是为了保护他们和其他人的安全。同一名消息人士表示，截至2025年底，审查儿童村其中一个移民项目的外部监督员报告称，孩子们感到安全且有保障。
该收容所设有与儿童共事并监管他们的项目工作人员，以及在校区巡逻、在发生斗殴或争吵或儿童行为激进时被召集的安保人员。向CNN透露的指控主要针对安保人员，也就是所谓的“特殊”小队。
另一名熟悉儿童村情况的消息人士称，其他儿童也曾被关押在孩子们称之为“红色房间”、工作人员则称之为“危机室”的地方，并被关押数小时作为行为惩罚。
纽约州法规允许所谓的“降级室”“用于协助平息儿童升级的过激行为”，但不得作为惩罚手段。儿童必须同意才能被送入降级室。消息人士称，儿童村的“红色房间”并非自愿进入。
消息人士将这个非正式被称为“红色房间”的空间描述为一个狭小的空间，因其红色地板和贴墙的红色地毯而得名。房间里仅有一盏顶灯，没有门，里面空无一物。
“这听起来像是实实在在的虐待，”其中一名消息人士说。“如果一个孩子在家里被那样对待——不允许洗澡、被长时间关在密闭空间里——会被认定处于受虐待的处境。”
全国青年法律中心儿童人权与尊严事务主管妮哈·德赛告诉CNN，她的团队在2019年曾与儿童村的儿童交谈过，这些儿童也举报了涉嫌的虐待、身体约束和使用“红色房间”的情况。
“一名青少年描述了一个‘特殊单元’的男性，当孩子们‘表现不好’时就会进来。这名青少年告诉我们，他看到这个单元的人把孩子扔到墙上，”她说，并补充称另一名男孩描述了自己被“特殊单元”强行约束并带至“红色房间”的经历。
据儿童福利专家透露，近年来已有投诉提交至纽约州正义中心，举报儿童村的状况。这些专家表示，近几周来，曾在该设施内居住的一些青少年已接到正义中心当局的联系。
一名熟悉儿童村情况的消息人士同样告诉CNN，作为监督的一部分，该收容所会将员工针对儿童的不当行为指控上报给ORR和纽约州正义中心。
纽约州正义中心负责接收虐待和忽视案件的举报，该中心拒绝具体评论其收到的举报，但在一份声明中告诉CNN，“儿童村属于正义中心的管辖范围”，但“关于调查结果的具体信息需要提出记录申请才能获取”。
CNN也已提交了记录申请。
根据其官网信息，儿童村成立于1851年，为纽约州有需要的儿童以及无监护人陪同抵达美国的移民儿童提供服务。
该设施为移民儿童提供标准照料，包括为有心理健康问题的儿童设立的治疗性集体之家，以及一个名为“强化监管”的类别，该类别还包括那些有过往执法记录或当前行为需要工作人员额外监管的青少年男孩。
多布斯费里校区布局如校园，拥有数十间小屋，服务各类项目和儿童，包括美国公民儿童。该校区设有娱乐中心、医疗诊所、教堂和学校。据熟悉儿童村情况的消息人士透露，有18间小屋分配给移民儿童，另有约17间小屋分配给美国公民儿童，这些儿童入住的原因多种多样，包括寄养儿童以及因过往经历需要安全居住环境的儿童。
过去一年里，该设施内的移民儿童约有50名或更少。儿童村可容纳187名移民儿童。
据ORR称，强化监管设施“比普通收容所采取更严格的安保措施，包括更密切的工作人员监管和额外支持”。针对儿童村青少年男孩待遇的指控似乎主要涉及他们在强化监管设施中的经历。
该设施内的儿童既有独自抵达美墨边境的，也有因境内执法行动与担保人分离的——这种情况在特朗普政府最新的打击行动中愈发常见。
这些儿童通常经历过某种创伤，且被关押的时间较长。
“他们可能出于多种原因表现出过激行为，有时工作人员会将其解读为威胁，但实际上这可能是心理健康问题或对自身处境的沮丧，”一名前卫生与公众服务部官员告诉CNN。
“从一开始情况就很复杂，甚至不清楚这些设施中的一些孩子是否应该被安置在这里，而这种更封闭的环境可能会引发潜在问题，”他们补充道。
马克·格林伯格是前卫生与公众服务部高级官员，他表示，有一套核心要求应适用于所有移民儿童设施。
“它们应具备行为管理策略，应符合创伤知情原则，不得使用或威胁使用体罚。不得使用隔离措施，除非在紧急情况下；不得使用人身约束，除非在紧急情况下，”他说。
格林伯格指出，任何关于身体虐待的指控都尤其令人担忧。
“任何情况下都不应发生殴打。这一点很明确，不会因设施性质的不同而改变，”格林伯格补充道。“这听起来极端且令人深感不安，本不应发生在儿童村的指控中，”格林伯格谈到儿童村的指控时说道。
ORR在全美24个州资助了171个设施和项目，用于照料无人陪伴的儿童，直到他们被安置到担保人（如父母或亲属）处。这些设施并非为长期停留设计，但由于一系列新的限制措施使得儿童被释放给担保人的难度加大，儿童在收容所的停留时间从数周延长至数月。
根据最新可获得的联邦数据，3月份HHS监管下的移民儿童人数为2173人。联邦数据显示，2025财年各收容所的平均停留时间为117天，较前一年增长了两倍。
HHS2019年的一份监察长报告显示，在HHS进行审查期间，儿童村获得了1670万美元的联邦资金，用于照料和安置近500名儿童。
该报告是对ORR设施全面审查的一部分，发现了“潜在有害的状况”，如部分浴室不卫生、儿童可接触到有害清洁用品，以及联邦资金使用方面的担忧。儿童村不同意监察长报告中的许多结论，但同意采取纠正措施。
据一名熟悉相关情况的消息人士透露，联邦官员在1月份进行的临时监督访问发现了“严重的儿童福利问题”，并已上报给ORR。
此次访问是由一名无人陪伴的未成年人引发的，该儿童在被转移至其他安置点后举报了虐待行为。
据一名HHS官员透露，难民救援办公室官员已启动一个项目，以评估该设施内事件的严重程度。
“作为其监督工作的一部分，ORR可以查看重大事件报告，以了解某一情况发生的频率以及涉及哪些服务机构。这取决于具体情况，但当收到针对特定服务机构的投诉时，肯定会开展此类调查，”曾在前总统拜登政府下担任ORR副主任的珍·斯迈尔斯说道。
Exclusive: Beatings, restraints and isolation: Allegations of abuse at a migrant children’s shelter trigger federal review
2026-04-16T09:00:55.312Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/16/politics/migrant-children-shelter-abuse-allegations
A facility in New York that housed migrant children faces allegations of physical abuse, including placing some children in isolation in a so-called “red room,” according to multiple sources who spoke with CNN about what’s unfolded at the shelter.
The accounts from federal sources and child welfare experts describe a heavy-handed approach to punishment for potential behavioral issues in recent years, prompting an internal review by the Health and Human Services Department’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which is charged with the care of migrant children, according to two of the sources.
The shelter, called the Children’s Village, has multiple locations across New York serving kids, including US citizens, though the abuse allegations stem from their treatment of migrant children at the Dobbs Ferry location. The Children’s Village has served unaccompanied migrant children since 2004.
Children were allegedly beaten by a “special” unit, akin to a security team, including at times, out of the view of cameras. They were also allegedly held in restraints for several minutes, beyond protocol in place to ensure safety. Children were also involuntarily taken to a room as punishment, according to a source familiar with the situation.
The federal government has long funded shelters, like the Children’s Village to care for migrant children who crossed the US-Mexico border alone — or more recently, been swept up in an interior immigration enforcement operation — until they can be reunited with a US-based sponsor, like a parent.
Over the last year, the Trump administration has made it harder for parents and guardians to retrieve their children from government custody and directed federal agents to ask migrant teens whether they want to voluntarily depart the country.
Issues at the Children’s Village, however, appear to pre-date the Trump administration — and persisted in recent months.
CNN relied on multiple sources, including internal federal agency documents, as well as child welfare experts, current and former HHS officials, and sources familiar with the Children’s Village to document the allegations levied against the shelter.
In a statement to CNN, a spokesperson for the Children’s Village said: “We have zero tolerance for any form of punishment.”
“All teens in our care deserve the highest level of care, support, and professionalism from every adult responsible for their well-being. Allegations of employee misconduct are deeply distressing, and if received, we make an immediate report to the authorities. We will take all necessary steps to ensure that any staff member found to have engaged in misconduct is addressed appropriately and without hesitation,” the spokesperson added.
The shelter, which has housed hundreds of migrant children aged 12 and up over the years, stopped receiving kids in late January — and those who were in their care have been moved elsewhere — over “significant child welfare concerns,” according to an internal HHS document reviewed by CNN.
One teen who was transferred to another facility recalled spending four days alone in what he described as a “red room” with a red light and no door, according to an account shared with a shelter clinician in early January and reviewed by CNN .
Over those four days, the teen said he didn’t bathe and was only provided bread for food. The boy said the room was located near the shelter’s security staff office, so personnel could monitor him while he was confined to the room.
The teen also recalled a so-called “special” unit that would swoop in when fights occurred or restraints were required. He said he was thrown to the floor and hit, as well as placed in restraints, nearly two dozen times.
In a statement to CNN, HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said the Office of Refugee Resettlement “takes all allegations of misconduct involving children in its care extremely seriously.”
“Upon receiving an allegation related to this facility, ORR acted immediately to transfer all unaccompanied children to other locations and referred the matter to the appropriate federal investigative authorities. The safety and well-being of children in ORR care is a top priority, and any credible concerns are addressed swiftly and thoroughly,” Nixon added.
According to child welfare experts, multiple teens housed in the facility have shared similar experiences about the “special” unit. Concerns over that team’s response — which allegedly involved physical abuse — were raised to New York authorities in recent years, two sources said.
Unaccompanied minors who crossed the Southern border may soon lose critical legal service
3:40 • Source: CNN
A source familiar with the Children’s Village said that the shelter received minors last year with acute behavioral issues from other ORR providers, and they sometimes required physical interventions, arguing that it was for their safety and that of others. The same source said that as of late 2025, external monitors that reviewed one of the Children’s Village immigrant programs reported that kids felt safe and secure.
The shelter has program staff who work with children and supervise them and separately security staff who roam the campus and are called in if there’s a fight or altercation or if a child is behaving in an aggressive manner. The allegations shared with CNN were primarily against the security staff, also referred to as the “special” team.
Other children were also held in what kids called the “red room,” but was known among staff as the “crisis room,” and held there for hours as punishment for behavior, according to another source familiar with Children’s Village.
New York regulations allow for so-called “de-escalation rooms” to “assist in calming a child’s escalating behavior” but not as a form of punishment. A child needs to consent in order to be placed in a de-escalation room. Sources say the “red room” at the Children’s Village was not voluntary.
Sources described the “red room,” as it was informally known, as a tight space that got its name from the red floor and red carpet lining the walls. There is a singular overhead light and no door. There is nothing else in the room.
“It sounds like real abuse,” one of the sources said. “If a kid was subjected to that in their home, not allowed to shower, kept in a confined space for that long, they’d be considered to be in an abusive situation.”
Neha Desai, managing director of Children’s Human Rights & Dignity at the National Center for Youth Law, told CNN her team spoke with children at Children’s Village in 2019 who also reported alleged abuse, physical restraints and use of a “red room.”
“One youth described a ‘special unit’ of men who came in when children were ‘behaving badly.’ The youth told us he saw the men in this unit throwing children against the wall,” she said, adding that another boy described “being physically restrained by the ‘special unit’” and taken to the “red room.”
Complaints have been submitted with the New York State Justice Center over conditions at the Children’s Village in recent years, according to child welfare experts. Some of the teens who had been housed at the facility have been contacted by authorities with the Justice Center in recent weeks, according to those experts .
One of the sources familiar with the Children’s Village similarly told CNN that as a form of oversight, the shelter reports allegations of staff misconduct toward kids to ORR and the New York State Justice Center.
The New York State Justice Center, which receives reports of abuse and neglect, declined to comment specifically on what reports its received but told CNN in a statement that “The Children’s Village is within the Justice Center’s jurisdiction,” but that “specific information on investigation findings would require” a record request.
CNN also submitted a record request.
Founded in 1851, the Children’s Village provides services for children in need in New York as well as migrant children who arrived in the US without a guardian, according to its website.
The facility offers standard care for migrant children, including a therapeutic group home for children struggling with mental health, as well as a category known as heightened supervision, which also includes teenage boys whose history, like a previous run in with law enforcement, or current behavior requires additional supervision by staff.
The Dobbs Ferry location is laid out like a campus with dozens of cottages serving a variety of programs and children, including US citizen kids. The campus includes a recreation center, a medical clinic, a chapel and a school. There are 18 cottages assigned to migrant children and around 17 cottages assigned for US citizen kids who may be there for a number of reasons, including kids in foster care and those needing a secure residential setting given their history, according to the source familiar with the Children’s Village.
There were around 50 migrant children or fewer at the facility over the last year. The Children’s Village can accommodate 187 migrant children.
According to ORR, heightened supervision facilities “maintain stricter security measures than a shelter, include close staff supervision, and extra support.” The allegations about the treatment of teenage boys at the Children’s Village appear to largely be about their time in the heightened supervision facility.
The kids at the facility are a mix of those who arrived at the US-Mexico border alone or as a result of an interior enforcement action where their sponsor was detained without them — a phenomenon that has happened more frequently under the Trump administration’s latest crackdown.
The kids have usually experienced a type of trauma and are in custody for a prolonged period.
“They might be acting out for a variety of reasons and sometimes staff will interpret it as threatening when in fact it could be mental health issues or frustration about their situation,” a former Health and Human Services official told CNN.
“You start with a fraught position where it’s not even clear that some of the kids in those facilities should be in them and the more closed nature of it could create potential problems,” they added.
Mark Greenberg, a former senior Health and Human Services official, said there are a set of core requirements that should apply to all child migrant facilities.
“They have behavior management strategies, that they’re trauma informed, that they don’t use or threaten corporal punishment. That they do not use seclusion, except on an emergency basis and only that they don’t use personal restraints except on an emergency basis,” he said.
Greenberg noted that any allegations of physical abuse are particularly concerning.
“There should not be beatings under any circumstances. That’s clear and not going to vary on the nature of the facility,” Greenberg added. “This sounds extreme and deeply disturbing and not something that’s supposed to happen,” Greenberg said of the Children’s Village allegations.
ORR funds 171 facilities and programs across 24 states for the care of unaccompanied children until they can be placed with a so-called sponsor, like a parent or relative. The facilities are not designed for long-term stays, but amid a spate of new restrictions that have made it harder for kids to be released to sponsors, children are remaining in custody for weeks, if not months.
There were 2,173 migrant children in HHS custody in March, according to the latest available federal figures. The average length of stay at a facility in fiscal year 2025 was 117 days, according to federal data, up threefold from the year prior.
A 2019 HHS inspector general report stated the Children’s Village received $16.7 million in federal funds for the care and placement of nearly 500 children when the HHS conducted its review.
That report, which was part of a broader review of ORR facilities, found “potentially harmful conditions,” like unsanitary conditions in some bathrooms and accessibility to harmful cleaning products, and concerns over the use of federal funds. The Children’s Village disagreed with many of the findings in the inspector general’s report but agreed to take corrective actions.
An ad-hoc monitoring visit conducted in January by federal officials revealed “significant child welfare concerns” that were elevated to ORR, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The visit was prompted by an unaccompanied minor who, after being moved to another placement, reported abuse.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement officials launched a project to assess the scope of incidents at the facility, according to an HHS official.
“As part of its oversight work, ORR can run checks of significant incident reports to figure out how frequently a situation has happened and at which providers. It would be situation dependent, but certainly that would be done when there was a complaint about a specific provider,” said Jen Smyers, a former ORR deputy director who served under former President Joe Biden.