Thread by @jacobsoboroff

I’m in McAllen, Texas.

About to go inside the epicenter of family separations: the Border Patrol’s Central Processing Center — Ursula.

The most family separations are happening here and Border Patrol is going to show us around.

No cameras allowed inside. Stay tuned.

Before our tour we are getting a press conference from Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol Chief Manuel Padilla.

He’s going through the sector talking points — apprehensions here are higher than anywhere else.

That’s also why this is the epicenter of separations.

Padilla says 1,174 kids have been separated from their parents in this sector alone since zero tolerance started.

Just finished our tour.

They told us we only had 7 minutes to go through a 77,000 square-foot facility. But we stretched it out much longer.

They told us this is the biggest border patrol detention center on the southern border.

Currently total 1129 detainees.

55,000 square feet of this facility is for families & unaccompanied minors.

22,000 for adults.

One mother here since Friday hadn’t heard of the zero tolerance policy yet.

When a family is separated they don’t know until the last minute — when they’re taken to processing.

Shockingly there are situations where a parent may be taken to court to be charged, a separation occurs, only to return the same day sentenced to “time served” — but their child has already been taken to another facility.

At that point nobody knows when they’d be reunited.

In terms of the facilities, migrants are detained behind large metal chain link cells.

Mats on the floor.

Mylar silver blankets everywhere.

Temperature is 72 degrees.

There were only four contracted social workers to deal with separated kids & others who need it in the processing center.

There are 525 family members in here today.

197 unaccompanied minors.

John Lopez the acting deputy patrol agent in charge says they’re stretched thin.

This facility is so slammed some migrants are being processed — the point they get separated — virtually.

They sit in front of a *computer* and talk with agents in El Paso, El Centro or Corpus Christi to hear their fate.

The 10 permanent processing agents aren’t enough.

On the single adult side it was noisy, detainees hollered at us as we walked through, flashing thumbs up, one shouting he was cold, some joked about food.

On the family side — much quieter. Eerily. Moms with kids in one cell. Dad and kids in another. And one just kids alone.

WaPo gave @SenJeffMerkley “three Pinocchios” for saying there are kids in cages at Border Patrol’s facility in McAllen.

Not sure why.

I saw myself: there are kids, families and adults in cages, cells, kennels — whatever you call them. No question. washingtonpost.com/news/fact-chec…

We were told we’re going to get handout images of our visit inside since we couldn’t bring cameras in but we are still waiting on that from @CBP.

Hoping to get them in time for @NBCNightlyNews.

Got them from @CBP.

The first photos since zero tolerance was announced inside the largest Border Patrol processing station in US — McAllen’s Ursula.

This is where we toured today.

They say it’s where more kids are separated from their parents than anywhere else in the US.

JUST IN: Video from inside our tour of the Border Patrol's processing station in McAllen -- the epicenter of family separations.

You'll see single adult males, but at about 53 seconds in it gets to mothers and girls.

This is unedited government footage as provided by @CBP.