By Martha Mendoza and Larry Fenn / AP
on July 13, 2018
Detaining immigrant children has morphed into a surging industry in
the U.S. that now reaps $1 billion annually — a tenfold increase over
the past decade, an Associated Press analysis finds. Health and Human
Services grants for shelters, foster care and other child welfare
services for detained unaccompanied and separated children soared from
$74.5 million in 2007 to $958 million in 2017. The agency is also
reviewing a new round of proposals amid a growing effort by the White
House to keep immigrant children in government custody. Currently, more
than 11,800 children, from a few months old to 17, are housed in nearly
90 facilities in 15 states — Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida,
Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Washington.They are being held while their parents await
immigration proceedings or, if the children arrived unaccompanied, are
reviewed for possible asylum themselves.In May, the agency issued requests for bids for five
projects that could total more than $500 million for beds, foster and
therapeutic care, and “secure care,” which means employing guards. More
contracts are expected to come up for bids in October.HHS spokesman Kenneth Wolfe said the agency will
award bids “based on the number of beds needed to provide appropriate
care for minors in the program.”The agency’s current facilities include locations for
what the Trump administration calls “tender age” children, typically
under 5. Three shelters in Texas have been designated for toddlers and
infants. Others — including in tents in Tornillo, Texas, and a
tent-and-building temporary shelter in Homestead, Florida — are housing
older teens.Over the past decade, by far the largest recipients
of taxpayer money have been Southwest Key and Baptist Child & Family
Services, AP’s analysis shows. From 2008 to date, Southwest Key has
received $1.39 billion in grant funding to operate shelters; Baptist
Child & Family Services has received $942 million.A Texas-based organization called International
Educational Services also was a big recipient, landing more than $72
million in the last fiscal year before folding amid a series of
complaints about the conditions in its shelters.The recipients of the money run the gamut from
nonprofits, religious organizations and for-profit entities. The
organizations originally concentrated on housing and detaining at-risk
youth, but shifted their focus to immigrants when tens of thousands of
Central American children started arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border in
recent years.They are essentially government contractors for the
Health and Human Services Department — the federal agency that
administers the program keeping immigrant children in custody.
Organizations like Southwest Key insist that the children are well cared
for and that the vast sums of money they receive are necessary to
house, transport, educate and provide medical care for thousands of
children while complying with government regulations and court orders.
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