Just toured the facility housing 326 13-17 year old migrant kids, including 14 girls, in Tornillo, Texas. The facility was erected under government contract by a private company, BCFS, which specializes in emergency management.
The facility looks like a military barracks. We saw kids, all but two boys, being shepherded to structured activities including phone time (2, 10-minute calls per week), meals, showers and soccer when it’s not too hot.
The facility is laid out the way this company and other emergency management operators have run storm evacuation and other makeshift facilities: tents labeled “DFAC” (dining), sleeping tents, shower tent, medical, etc.
We were allowed to view one sleeping tent with five bunk beds on either side, neatly made up, military style. I saw a book tucked under one boy’s pillow, and crossword puzzle and kindergarten level learning books on a desk near the door.
On the walls of the sleeping tent we viewed, were a few drawings in colorful crayon. One read, in English, “I am 100% Honduran. I walked 10,000 KM to the EEUU” in blue and yellow with a Honduran flag.
Another drawing read in Spanish:
No temas. (Do not be afraid)
Nos he oido tu voz (we have heard your voice)
And below that: Genesis 21:17. Here is that Bible verse:
No temas. (Do not be afraid)
Nos he oido tu voz (we have heard your voice)
And below that: Genesis 21:17. Here is that Bible verse:
Sidebar: The verse comes from the story of Hagar, the Egyptian slave of Abraham and his barren wife, who was given to Abraham to bear him a son, Ishmael, but when mistreated, ran away. It’s known colloquially ... as the handmaid’s tale: biblegateway.com/passage/?searc…
There was also a crayon drawing on the tent wall of a cross on a hill, with a red rose hovering over it. And there was another sign written neatly in English and hanging by the door. It read: “If you work hard, good things will happen.”
As for the demographic breakdown at the Tornillo facility:
The 326 kids included:
117 from Honduras
40 from El Salvador
162 from Guatemala
3 from Mexico
4 from other places including one from Romania
The 326 kids included:
117 from Honduras
40 from El Salvador
162 from Guatemala
3 from Mexico
4 from other places including one from Romania
14 are girls
26 were separated from their parents by DHS, of which they told us 3 have been reunited with their parents.
26 were separated from their parents by DHS, of which they told us 3 have been reunited with their parents.
We were told that the kids at the Tornillo facility all came from one of DHS’s 100 other facilities when their space needed to be freed up for an incoming small or “tender age” child.
The “IC” running Tornillo was VERY critical of the child separation policy, saying it never should have happened. He said the crowding at traditional facilities that led them to open this facility was entirely caused by the separation policy.
He said he would not want to do this again. And he was very clear that the policy created an unfairly negative situation for his team, due largely to the secrecy, and made the facility a target for threats.
The HHS spokesman told us unaccompanied and separated kids have been in HHS custody an average of 57 days, though some of the kids at Tornillo have been held longer. The process of reuniting them with family includes an ICE background check on the family offering to take them.
Or if the parent has been deported, requires working with the consulate to reunite parent and child if the parent wants the child sent to where they are.
BTW BCFS is a nonprofit. They submitted a proposal and were awarded the contract to erect the Tornillo facility, though I didn’t get a clear answer as to whether the contract went out for a bid.
And the contract expires July 13th, after which it’s not clear whether the Tornillo facility will be shut down, which the HHS says could happen because they think the population will be reduced to “zero,” maintained or expanded. They have the capacity to expand to 4,000 beds.
But since HHS only deals with minors, the spokesman couldn’t tell us what will happen when those being interned are not just kids, but entire families, as the Trump administration is preparing for. Also if the next Tornillo is on a military base, not clear what access we’ll have.
One more very important note: we were told the counselors and staff at the facility look out for any signs of violent behavior or gang affiliation and out of 326 kids at Tornillo have found NONE. The kids were described as respectful, many religious & they’ve been through a lot.
We were not allowed to interact much with the kids, but we were able to say hola and que tal, and “come esta la comida,” and some boys were smiley and out-going, others looked bewildered and distant. Some were playing soccer or talking about the World Cup.
IOW they were teenage boys. I recognized my sons in them. Our presence had to be jarring - a bunch of adults gawking at them. And there was an incredible pathos to the whole thing, though the staff I saw interacting with the kids seemed genuinely caring.
We were told that the kids who have left this and other HHS facilities will do things like leave little notes for the staff, or leave their books (I saw puzzle books and some kindergarten learning books) for the next child. Your heart can’t help but break for these children.
And it’s still a huge open question how the government plans to reunite so many kids with their parents, particularly the ones who have already been deported. Especially the little kids and infants. More to come.
