A human rights nightmare in the Texas desert is soon coming to an end. Officials say that the prison camp jailing unaccompanied migrant children in Tornillo is set to shut down by January 31, more than six months after the “temporary” jail was initially opened. “I noticed one of the large tents being taken down, and as of yesterday another large tent is being taken down," said one activist. "I've noticed a lot of bathroom trailers rolling out of there. They've rolled out dozens of mobile offices. And I see vans full of kids heading out. These are all really hopeful signs."
Hopeful signs during a dark time for vulnerable kids. During its operation, the prison camp’s population surged from 450 children in June to nearly 3,000 last month. This was the government’s own doing: Rather than ensuring vulnerable kids could be placed with family members or other sponsors, officials made it more difficult for them to be released, including by implementing an “unprecedented” baiting tactic whereby potential sponsors, under increased vetting, were arrested by immigration officials. Late last month, the administration mostly reversed this policy, following months of outrage from activists and elected Democrats and a surging population of jailed children.
However, Tornillo’s long-overdue end won’t mean freedom for all of its young prisoners. CBS News reports that while some kids are going to U.S. sponsors—as they should have been from the very start—others are going to facilities elsewhere in the U.S. Although one of these destinations will not be a facility in Homestead, Florida, that facility will now have the grotesque distinction of being the largest. Officials “told CBS News it does not intend to transfer children from Tornillo to Homestead.”
Children do not belong in detention, period, and while shutting down Tornillo is a step in the right direction, it must be just the start. Alleged abuses at Tornillo must be addressed while we scrutinize Homestead, operated by contractors Comprehensive Health Services, as well as facilities contracted by “non-profit” Southwest Key, which has “stockpiled more than $61 million in cash,” according to a New York Times investigation, while failing to properly conduct background checks on employees. "If, in fact, the government is interested in releasing kids to sponsors in a more timely manner,” said child psychologist Dr. Amy Cohen,” there should be no reason for them to be expanding the beds at Homestead.”