Jacob SoboroffVerified account

Just finished tour, don’t even know where to start. One of the first things you notice when you walk into the shelter — no joke — a mural of Trump with the quote “sometimes losing a battle you find a new way to win the war.” Presidential murals everywhere. But that one is 1st.

This shelter, Casa Padre, is the largest licensed childcare facility of its kind in the country. Nearly 1,500 boys 10-17 in here now. They’re supposed to sleep four to room. Nearly every room has 5. They’ve received a variance from the state because of overcrowding.

Officials here said they’ve never had an MS-13 member here, ever.

Moments after we walked in a shelter employee asked us to smile at hundreds of detained migrant kids in line for a meal because “they feel like animals in a cage being looked at.”

Kids here get only two hours a day to be outside in fresh air. One hour of structured time. One hour of free time. The rest of the day is spent inside a former Wal Mart.

Instructions to employees in the lobby of the shelter if you encounter media: 1) “Immediatelt notify PD,” or the police department. 2) Call the shelter communications director. In that order. For the record, nobody called cops on us. We were invited by HHS and the shelter.

This mega-shelter is run by trained staff — a nonprofit. I believe the worker looking after these kids who said she’d like to see a day when they don’t have to do this. But things are moving in the wrong direction — capacity is 1497 and tonight 1469 boys will sleep here.

I have been inside a federal prison and county jails. This place is called a shelter but these kids are incarcerated. No cells and no cages, and they get to go to classes about American history and watch Moana, but they’re in custody. Coming up on @allinwithchris next.