Separated migrant children may be housed in quiet buildings on your block

Kaila White | The Republic | azcentral.com

Show Caption Hide Caption U.S. Border Patrol video shows inside detention center Government provided video shows more than 1,100 people inside metal cages in a warehouse that's divided into separate wings for unaccompanied children, adults on their own, and mothers and fathers with children.

PHOENIX — Large groups of children come and go at more than a dozen nondescript facilities in quiet neighborhoods around Arizona, black gates opening for white vans and employees only.

Many of the kids are Hispanic, neighbors say, and appear to be as young as 7 or 8. Signs are labeled Southwest Key, and say little else.

Even though they've lived next door for years, many neighbors don’t know what the facilities are, or what goes on inside.

Tony Andersons, who lives in an apartment complex next to a Southwest Key facility in west Phoenix, said she began wondering about it when she saw groups of young children singing in Spanish.

About a month ago, she asked someone leaving the facility about it and "they said it’s like a rehab center," which she thought was odd for children.

Eduardo Grijalva, who lives next to a Glendale, Arizona, location where a mural says "hello" and "bienvenidos," assumed it was an orphanage. On Sunday mornings, he hears kids and teens playing soccer and listening to salsa music.

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Both were surprised to learn Southwest Key houses minors who have entered the U.S. without parents or adult guardians and have been detained by immigration officials. The facilities also may be receiving children who have been forcibly separated from their families under the Trump administration's zero-tolerance policy to pursue federal criminal prosecution for everyone caught entering the U.S. illegally.

Uproar over the policy has focused a spotlight on the work of Southwest Key and other organizations that house migrant children.

For some Arizona residents, it has brought a sudden realization that a national controversy might be playing out next door. There is one Southwest Key facility — this one decorated with lighthouses — near the Cheery Lynn historic district in central Phoenix. Three are located in Glendale and one in Peoria.

About 2,000 such children have been separated from their families in two months. And some have been brought to Arizona.

One Arizona organization that houses migrants, A New Leaf, confirmed some of its residents are children who have been separated from their parents under the Trump administration policy.

And last week, Southwest Key Chief Executive Juan Sanchez told the Washington Post that about 10 percent of his organization's residents are younger children who have been separated from their parents.

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In a statement to The Arizona Republic on Wednesday, Southwest Key declined to confirm whether its Arizona locations housed children recently separated from their parents, citing the need to protect the children’s safety and security.

"It is important to note that with the increased attention our programs have received, we have had to increase security in order to protect the privacy and safety of our staff and children," spokeswoman Lizzie Chen wrote in the statement.

What you need to know about Southwest Key

Southwest Key is a growing non-profit corporation based in Austin, Texas.

It operates more than two dozen programs for unaccompanied minors in seven states.

In Arizona, Southwest Key operates at least 13 facilities licensed by the state Department of Health Services.

The federal government paid Southwest Key nearly $500 million to operate shelters this year, the Dallas Morning News reported.

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One such location that has drawn recent national attention is Casa Padre, a Texas facility that houses more than 1,400 immigrant boys in a former Walmart.

It is unclear how many of its locations house migrant children separated from their parents under the Trump administration policy. Some may house minors in Southwest Key's other programs, which divert youth from dropping out of school or from going to jail or prison.

Trump, Southwest Key address controversy

Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that was intended to keep together migrant families who crossed the border illegally.

“We are going to keep the families together. I didn’t like the sight or the feeling of families being separated," Trump said. "This will solve that problem."

Southwest Key Programs issued a statement Wednesday saying it "does not support separating families at the border."

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"We believe keeping families together is better for the children, parents and our communities, and we remain committed to providing compassionate care and reunification. For every child who has come through our shelter doors, we start on day one to reunite them with their parents or a family sponsor and to provide the kind of service that will help them thrive."

Protesters at Tucson facility

A small group of protesters stood outside a Southwest Key location in Tucson on Wednesday morning, holding signs with messages such as "seeking asylum is not a crime."

Nothing visible from the road identified the building as a place that houses detained children. The nondescript tan building, with an open-air plaza in its center, bears the names of restaurants that no longer operate at the address.

The only indication that kids may be on the premises is a mural near the parking lot depicting children at play.

Jocabed Frausto, director of Future Leaders School, was surprised a national news story was playing out so close to her new preschool.

Her first thought was to help.

Maybe they need stuffed animals to cope with the stress of being separated from their families, she said. Maybe they need snacks or juice, like the treats enjoyed by students at her preschool.

"Children who have a need should be helped. It’s just our responsibility," she said.

Separated kids held in Mesa

A New Leaf operates two residential programs in Arizona that serve up to 44 immigrant children.

Since 2011, it has received federal contracts totaling about $17.7 million, according to a U.S. Health and Human Services website.

The two Mesa homes were full as of Wednesday, with some slots filled by children removed from families because of the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance enforcement, said Kirby Hurlbut, the agency’s director of youth and residential services.

However, most of the beds have been full for the better part of a year.

"I don’t think the policy (of separating families at the border) changed our occupancy," Hurlbut said, adding the two homes have served a fairly steady stream of unaccompanied minors during the seven years it has had a contract with the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement.

In contrast to larger contractors that are housing immigrant children, Hurlbut said, A New Leaf provides a "homelike" environment. There are no black fences around the property. The bedrooms typically hold from two to four children. There are play areas in the backyards.

The children on average stay one month before being reunited with their parents or housed with a relative, Hurlbut said.

Contributing: Daniel González, Craig Harris, Mary Jo Pitzl and Rachel Leingang, The Arizona Republic. Follow Kaila White on Twitter: @kailawhite