Texas detention camp for teen migrants keeps growing

Less than six months after President Donald Trump’s administration opened a ‘temporary’ shelter for migrant children in Texas in June, the facility has expanded into a detention camp holding thousands of teenagers and shows every sign of becoming more permanent. 

On Tuesday, 2,324 largely Central American boys and girls between the ages of 13 and 17 were sleeping inside the highly guarded facility in Tornillo, in rows of bunk beds in canvas tents, some of which once housed first responders to Hurricane Harvey.

The shelter located in the isolated corner of the Texas desert was first opened for 360 migrant children, but its population has since multiplied by more than six times, with over 1,300 teens having arrived since the end of October.

Now, there are more people detained in Tornillo’s tent city than in all but one of the nation’s 204 federal prisons, with close to a 1:1 staff to detainee ratio, and the people charged with running the facility aren’t being vetted by the FBI.

With construction continuing on the site that could end up costing tax payers more than $430 million, it seems less and less likely the tent city will close by December 31, as previously planned. 

The teens at Tornillo were not separated from their families at the border. Almost all came on their own hoping to join family members in the United States. 

President Donald Trump’s administration opened a ‘temporary’ shelter for migrant children in Tornillo, Texas in June, which has expanded into a detention camp holding thousands of teens

None of those 2,100 staff are going through rigorous FBI fingerprint background checks, according to a government watchdog memo obtained exclusively by the Associated Press.

‘Instead, Tornillo is using checks conducted by a private contractor that has access to less comprehensive data, thereby heightening the risk that an individual with a criminal history could have direct access to children,’ the memo read. 

In June, as detention centers for migrant children overflowed, Scott Lloyd, director of HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement, signed a memo granting a waiver to staff Tornillo without the required child abuse and neglect checks, which flag any potential employee who has a record of hurting a child. 

On Tuesday, 2,324 largely Central American boys and girls between the ages of 13 and 17 were sleeping inside the highly guarded facility

On Tuesday, 2,324 largely Central American boys and girls between the ages of 13 and 17 were sleeping inside the highly guarded facility

Teens with identical haircuts and government-issued shirts and pants can be seen walking single file from tent to tent, flanked by staff at the front and back

Teens with identical haircuts and government-issued shirts and pants can be seen walking single file from tent to tent, flanked by staff at the front and back

There were two reasons, according to a memo by HHS’s inspector general’s office: first, there was pressure to move quickly to open the detention camp, and second, Lloyd’s agency assumed Tornillo staff had already undergone FBI fingerprint checks. They had not.

Lloyd, under fire for his handling of the migrant crisis, was transferred out of the refugee resettlement branch and to a different division of HHS last week. 

Weber did not immediately respond to questions as to why the department waived background checks.

Failing to properly check staffers’ backgrounds ‘can lead to potential abuse and neglect of these kids,’ Dr. Colleen Kraft, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said.

Since the facility opened, BCFS has been checking job candidates’ national and local criminal histories and doing multi-state sex offender registry checks, Krista Piferrer, a spokeswoman for BCFS Health and Human Services, a faith-based organization that runs Tornillo, said.

BCFS has filed more than 30 reports on ‘significant incidents’ at Tornillo since June, some involving interactions between children and staff, but none of a sexual nature, Piferrer said.

Now, there are more people detained in Tornillo's tent city than in all but one of the nation's 204 federal prisons, with close to a 1:1 staff to detainee ratio, and the people charged with running the facility aren't being vetted by the FBI; Teens are shown running at the Tornillo site on Sunday

Now, there are more people detained in Tornillo’s tent city than in all but one of the nation’s 204 federal prisons, with close to a 1:1 staff to detainee ratio, and the people charged with running the facility aren’t being vetted by the FBI; Teens are shown running at the Tornillo site on Sunday

Jeffrey Harp, a retired FBI assistant special agent in charge, told the AP that FBI fingerprint background checks can be completed in a few minutes and reveal much more information about job candidates than checks that simply run a person’s name against criminal history databases.

‘How do you know the person is who they say they are unless you do a fingerprint check? They can’t lie about their fingerprints, but they can lie about their name or take on someone else’s identity who has a crystal clean record,’ Harp said.

Rising from the cotton fields and dusty roads not far from the fence marking the border between the US and Mexico, golf carts that ferry staffers carrying walkie-talkies can be seen driving amongst rows of beige tents in the Tornillo camp.

The nonprofit agency contracted to run the site says it is proud of its work. It says it is operating the facility with the same precision and care used for shelters put up after natural disasters.

‘We don’t have anything to hide. This is an exceptionally run operation,’ Piferrer said.

A spokesperson for the US Department of Health and Human Services, Mark Weber, said no decisions have been made about whether Tornillo will close by year’s end as scheduled.

‘Whatever it is we decide to do, in the very near future, we’ll do a public notice about that,’ he said.

Tornillo currently has 3,800 beds for the teens, with 1,400 of those on reserve.

None of those 2,100 staff are going through rigorous FBI fingerprint background checks, according to a government watchdog memo obtained exclusively by the Associated Press; Migrant teens held inside the Tornillo detention camp look outside the fences surrounding the facility on November 15

None of those 2,100 staff are going through rigorous FBI fingerprint background checks, according to a government watchdog memo obtained exclusively by the Associated Press; Migrant teens held inside the Tornillo detention camp look outside the fences surrounding the facility on November 15

Jeffrey Harp, a retired FBI assistant special agent in charge, told the AP that FBI fingerprint background checks can be completed in a few minutes and reveal much more information about job candidates than checks that simply run a person's name against criminal history databases; Migrant teens held inside the Tornillo detention camp sit inside the facility in Texas on Sunday

Jeffrey Harp, a retired FBI assistant special agent in charge, told the AP that FBI fingerprint background checks can be completed in a few minutes and reveal much more information about job candidates than checks that simply run a person’s name against criminal history databases; Migrant teens held inside the Tornillo detention camp sit inside the facility in Texas on Sunday

There aren’t 2,300 extra beds in other facilities either, so moving the children to a place where staff have been more formally vetted seems far off, and a contract obtained by the AP shows the project could continue into 2020.

Planned closures of the area have already been extended three times since summer.

The camp’s population may grow even more if migrants in the caravans lambasted by Trump enter the US.

Federal officials have said they may fly caravan teens who arrive in San Diego directly to El Paso, then bus them to Tornillo, according to a nonprofit social service provider who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to publicly discuss the matter.

The camp's population may grow even more if migrants in the caravans lambasted by Trump enter the US; Migrant teens held inside the Tornillo detention camp smile at protesters waving at them outside the fences surrounding the facility in Texas on November 15

The camp’s population may grow even more if migrants in the caravans lambasted by Trump enter the US; Migrant teens held inside the Tornillo detention camp smile at protesters waving at them outside the fences surrounding the facility in Texas on November 15

As the population inside the camp swells, young detainees’ anguish has deepened.

Teens with identical haircuts and government-issued shirts and pants can be seen walking single file from tent to tent, flanked by staff at the front and back.

‘The few times they let me call my mom I would tell her that one day I would be free, but really I felt like I would be there for the rest of my life,’ a 17-year-old from Honduras who was held at Tornillo earlier this year told AP.

‘I feel so bad for the kids who are still there. What if they have to spend Christmas there? They need a hug, and nobody is allowed to hug there.’

The teen spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal from immigration authorities.

Tornillo currently has 3,800 beds for the teens, with 1,400 of those on reserve; This undated file photo provided by the Administration for Children and Families, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services, shows the shelter used to house unaccompanied migrant children in Tornillo, Texas

Tornillo currently has 3,800 beds for the teens, with 1,400 of those on reserve; This undated file photo provided by the Administration for Children and Families, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services, shows the shelter used to house unaccompanied migrant children in Tornillo, Texas

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