Report: Contractor housed separated migrant children in unlicensed office building

Agnel Philip | The Republic | azcentral.com

Show Caption Hide Caption Vacant Phoenix office building held migrant children, Reveal report says According to a report by Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting, a vacant Phoenix office housed dozens of migrant children in June.

A company contracted to provide transportation for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement housed children in an unlicensed facility near downtown Phoenix, according to a report from Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting.

Children were held at the office building over three weeks while the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" border-enforcement policy caused officials to separate families who had crossed the border illegally.

The report describes the facility as "a vacant Phoenix office building with dark windows, no kitchen and only a few toilets."

In a written statement to The Republic, MVM Inc., said Reveal "inaccurately reports that this building is a holding center for migrant families and children. To be absolutely clear: It is not.

"... We sometimes use this building as a temporary waiting area because it is a safe and private place for families and children in between transport. We would never leave these families or children at airport or other transportation hub to wait for hours.



"If needed and as approved by ICE, we use this building for that purpose and the standard waiting time is several hours."

RELATED: Timeline: Immigrant children separated from families at the border

A neighbor who lives behind what's believed to be the facility identified in the story, told The Republic that the building had been vacant before activity started around March. People with the company told him they had a contract with the federal government for "deliveries," but didn't mention they transported children.

"It basically looked like a new business," said the neighbor, who asked not to be identified by name. "They were ... painting and stuff, and that's really all I saw was some industrial lights in there."

A holding site for immigrant children in Phoenix Cellphone video obtained by Reveal and the Center for Investigative Reporting shows immigrant children being taken into a building in Phoenix.

Until 2½ weeks ago, he said lights were on at the facility throughout the day and night, but he never saw children transported in or out.

Another neighbor provided Reveal with video of children in sweatsuits being led into the facility. One of the children was so young she had to be carried, the video shows.

Jennifer Elzea, an ICE spokeswoman, said in a statement that companies like MVM are allowed to use office space as waiting areas.

"These offices are not overnight housing facilities, per the contract with ICE," she said in an email. "The offices are outfitted to provide minors awaiting same-day transport with a more comfortable and private atmosphere than they might otherwise have at a public transportation hub."

MVM's CEO, Kevin Marquez, signed a lease for the office building in March, a month before the zero-tolerance policy was announced, but the lease doesn't allow the space to be used for cooking or sleeping, according to the report.

An MVM spokesperson told Reveal that the building “is not a shelter or a child care facility. … It’s a temporary holding place” that was used until the children were flown to other locations. The company was unable to say how long children stayed at the facility or if they stayed overnight.

Reveal reporters last week spotted "an inflatable mattress, a box marked 'baby shampoo,' a medication schedule and other items" in the building.

Arizona politicians voice opposition to child separation facilities in Phoenix Arizona politicians held a press conference outside of a facility where migrant children were allegedly taken while awaiting transport.

Neighbors said they never saw staff take the children outside, but did see packages of food and water taken into the building, according to the report. Two days after Trump signed a June 20 executive order ending family separations, five unmarked vans came to the facility to take the children away, neighbors told Reveal.

The facility isn't licensed by the Arizona Department of Health Services, a company spokesman told Reveal, but that a license would be required “where children are unaccompanied by a parent or guardian on a regular basis for periods of less than 24 hours a day other than the child’s home."

MVM said it had consulted with the state and was told it wouldn't need additional licensing.

The department has no record of complaints for an unlicensed child care facility at the building's address, the spokesman told Reveal.

The Health and Human Service's Office of Refugee Resettlement, which operates the unaccompanied minor program, awarded MVM an $8 million five-year contract to “maintain readiness” and provide “emergency support services," according to the report.

Reach the reporter at aphilip@gannett.com or on Twitter at @agnel88_philip.

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