The feds have done this sort of thing before (I remember this happening with resettling Vietnamese refugees), but it's still reassuring when the Biden administration highlights the communitarian side of government service. For one thing, I can't even imagine the other guy doing anything like this -- he wasn't worried about the kids at the border, he was more interested in using paramilitaries to display power. Via NextGov:
The Biden administration is calling on federal employees across government to pause their normal job duties to instead assist in processing and caring for the increased number of unaccompanied children arriving at the southern border.
The employees who volunteer would serve in a four-month detail to the Health and Human Services Department’s Office of Refugee Resettlement, according to a solicitation sent out by the Office of Personnel Management. A significant uptick in children arriving at the border has overwhelmed HHS and Homeland Security Department resources and forced the Biden administration to stand up emergency shelters.
“OPM and HHS are calling upon our federal agency family of exceptional public servants to lend support to this humanitarian effort through this detail opportunity,” acting OPM Director Kathleen McGettigan said.
[...] President Biden has already deployed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to the border to assist with the growing number of arrivals, but HHS still requires additional staffing. OPM said employees volunteering for the detail would deploy to facilities in Dallas, San Diego, San Antonio and Fort Bliss, with more facilities accepting the detailees as necessary. The employees would work directly with migrant children in conjunction with HHS, CBP and non-governmental staff. OPM and HHS are so far seeking about 1,000 employees to volunteer for the roles, according to an administration official.