Officials allowed the media to tour a second child immigrant shelter in El Cajon, CA and — SURPRISE! — they didn’t find any of those cage that the Obama administration used to house unaccompanied minors taken into custody at the southern border:
We’re about to head into another detention shelter for immigrant children separated from families. This one much different from the former Walmart @jacobsoboroff showed us earlier this week. No cameras allowed in but our reports coming up @MSNBC @NBCNightlyNews @allinwithchris pic.twitter.com/EJOJc0AWgN
— Gadi Schwartz (@GadiNBC) June 15, 2018
And here NBC’s Gadi Schwartz questions if the shelter is a detention center or not. Does he want little kids just to be able to leave whenever they want? Sheesh:
So, the first thing children who are brought here are told is that this is not a detention center. — Even though they are not allowed to leave. Don’t know when they will be freed. And get 2 phone calls to family a week. Those calls can’t be longer than 10 minutes.
— Gadi Schwartz (@GadiNBC) June 15, 2018
He also didn’t like this bell the staff uses for inspiration:
The first thing we were shown is this bell that is supposed to give kids hope… but seemed really haunting. we weren’t allowed to take pictures. But here’s what it said in Spanish. pic.twitter.com/rjoZPJIlHa
— Gadi Schwartz (@GadiNBC) June 15, 2018
It means when a minor finally achieves their dream of reuniting with their family or sponsor, they’ll ring this bell as they leave. This will be the sound of hope.
— Gadi Schwartz (@GadiNBC) June 15, 2018
So one of the staff members giving the tour rang the bell… there was this strange second of silence… then all over the facility immigrant kids stopped what they were doing and started clapping.
— Gadi Schwartz (@GadiNBC) June 15, 2018
Schwartz did eventually find a cage, but it was for soccer balls:
At this facility, there are 63 kids, all males and most from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. We saw them playing soccer in a caged field with nets. We were told the fencing was because soccer balls kept getting kicked off property.
— Gadi Schwartz (@GadiNBC) June 15, 2018
NOTE: Although Schwartz never mentioned it, not all of these kids were separated from their parents by ICE, which is a HUGE distinction:
Many of the kids I saw at the facility in El Cajon arrived at the US border unaccompanied. So it was not our government that separated them from their parents. They are cared for in the shelter until a relative/sponsor arrives for “reunion.” Staff care about kids before politics.
— Joel B. Pollak (@joelpollak) June 15, 2018
Now, back to Schwartz who listed the kids’ activities during the day:
The kids wake up at 630 am. Breakfast at 7am. Schooling until 2pm. Clinical work until 3pm Vocational, large muscle and recreational leisure structured by different blocks afterward. They have movie nights, special events, can play soccer…
— Gadi Schwartz (@GadiNBC) June 15, 2018
They even had a prom:
The staff says they have even hosted a prom where these immigrant children —- who are being held in a fenced and locked facility—- are allowed to dress up and socialize with girls who are also in the custody of HHS.
— Gadi Schwartz (@GadiNBC) June 15, 2018
And the shelter does do its best to make sure families can see each other despite being house in separate sex facilities:
And it’s not just parents being separated from their children… if a family has siblings that are brother and sister, they are seperated as well. At this facility in El Cajon, brothers and sisters are allowed to see each other once a week.
— Gadi Schwartz (@GadiNBC) June 15, 2018
More information on the length of stay:
At this facility- staff says the average minor stays 47 days… but they have had a stay as long as +260 days. The HHS average stay is 56. Right now there are 11,351 minors being held in over 100 shelters like this across the country. pic.twitter.com/dG73IP0o0r
— Gadi Schwartz (@GadiNBC) June 15, 2018
***
Related:
ICYMI==> PHOTOS: MSNBC reporter tours shelter for migrant kids and finds no cells or Obama kennels, but they are forced to watch 'Moana' https://t.co/i0zPBeOYY9
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) June 14, 2018
KEEP DIGGING: Jon Favreau responds to his now infamous deleted tweet of the Obama kennels https://t.co/SPyKejDkQT
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) May 29, 2018
KEEP DIGGING: Jon Favreau responds to his now infamous deleted tweet of the Obama kennels https://t.co/SPyKejDkQT
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) May 29, 2018
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