Earlier this month Casa Padre became the first facility journalists were allowed to tour since the Trump administration announced its “zero tolerance” policy. Accounts of children being “incarcerated” there (along with the creepy Trump mural on the wall) helped make migrant family separations a major national news story.
Since the story broke Southwest Key has been trying to assure lawmakers and the public that the children are well cared for, and letting a minor wander off on his own doesn’t help their case. On the other hand, it sparked new discussion about whether children could just exit the facility to return to their parents, rather than dealing with the Trump administration’s disorganized process for family reunions.
Michelle Brané, the director of the migrant rights and justice program at the Women’s Refugee Commission, told the New York Times that shelter employees don’t have the authority to “tackle a kid and restrain them,” but when a child leaves they have to call the authorities because they’re technically in federal custody.
She said it’s possible children are leaving because they just want to “go find their parents,” but “if children are running away, that raises questions about the care that’s being provided.”
Article Appeared @http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/06/teen-boy-goes-missing-from-texas-migrant-childrens-shelter.html