"This shelter would not have been necessary without the separations," the emergency manager, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was concerned for his safety, said during a media tour of the facility. "The crisis was a result of the decision to separate the kids. The separations should have never happened."
He added: "The process is flawed and it harmed the children. I would like to never do this mission again."
Humbsblog.com was part of a group that went into the Tornillo detention facility and saw firsthand what life was like for unaccompanied and separated children. Cameras and cellphones were not allowed inside.
The facility holds 326 kids aged 13 to 17. Most are boys, but the facility also holds 14 girls in separate tents. Of the children held there, 117 children are from Honduras, 40 are from El Salvador, 162 are from Guatemala and three are from Mexico. Four others include one Romanian teen and one Nicaraguan.
The boys’ sleeping tents had five bunks on a side and 20 to a tent and resembled a barracks. The beds were neatly made and everything was labeled in military jargon, with the tents labeled Alpha 1, Alpha 2, and so on. There are 22 tents in this facility, with two set aside for girls.
The schedule for the day was labeled “battle rhythm.”
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