Thread: AZ - Undocumented immigrant teens run away from Tucson shelter

Posted: Oct 08, 2015 3:59 PM PDT
Updated: Oct 08, 2015 4:08 PM PDT
By Barbara Grijalva

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) -
Three undocumented teenagers from Honduras have run away from a shelter in midtown.

They were living at a Southwest Key shelter that was originally opened to help house the thousands of unaccompanied minors who streamed across the border last year, causing a crisis for the Border Patrol in Nogales.

The facility is near Oracle Road and Drachman Street.

Undocumented, unaccompanied immigrants are held there as they wait to find out what might happen to them.

Often they are sent to live with relatives in this country or they are deported.

The fact the teens were able to run away has many people concerned.

Their concerns center on the safety of the Hondurans, two 16-year-old boys who ran away Tuesday, and the 17-year-old boy who ran away Wednesday.

Southwest Key contracts with the federal government to provide shelters for unaccompanied immigrant children.

The Texas-based private, non-profit organization sent Tucson News Now a written comment explaining it had notified authorities in an effort to safely return the teens.

It also said there never has been an incident of a child from its shelters committing a crime in the local community.

"They have gone through a lot. They have no money. They have no resources. They do whatever they need to do to make it all the way from Honduras to Mexico and then to the U.S.," said Tony Banegas, Consul Emeritus of Honduras in Arizona.

Southwest Key officials said, for the safety of the children at the shelter, they can't say how the boys got away.

The company has been accused of not being transparent with the Tucson community, even though taxpayers support the shelter.

Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik is one of its harshest critics.

"These kids now, likely with language barriers and unclear status in terms of where they're going, they're homeless kids in the community. Southwest Key owes it to the public to the media, to open those doors to show the conditions under which they're keeping these kids."

For its part, on its website, Southwest Key states, "To maintain the privacy, security and well-being of the children, the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) generally does not allow media tours of facilities when children are present."

Here is the the entire Southwest Key statement that was sent to Tucson News Now:

"This week, three minors staying at the Southwest Key Programs shelter for unaccompanied immigrant children in Tucson, Arizona absconded from the facility. In accordance with protocol, Southwest Key Programs staff members in Tucson immediately notified local and federal authorities of the situation and provided authorities with the identities and countries of origin of the missing children, in an attempt to locate and return them to safety.

The children staying at Southwest Key's unaccompanied minor shelter in Tucson are all under age 18 and are awaiting reunification with a parent or guardian, as is permitted by law. As such, we have no reason to believe that the missing youth pose any threat to the community. In the nearly 20 years that Southwest Key Programs has operated shelters for unaccompanied minors, there has never been an incident of a child from one of our unaccompanied minor shelters committing a crime in the local community.

All of Southwest Key's unaccompanied minor shelters are highly regulated by every level of government, (local, state, and federal), and each is licensed by its respective, state childcare authority. Additionally, the program is required by law to maintain a certain staff to client ratio twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Of the thousands of children we have served over the years, less than a fraction of one percent have absconded from our shelters."

Tucson News Now also emailed questions to Southwest Key officials, who responded with the following:

How did they run away?

"For the safety of the children living at the shelter, we cannot give this level of detail about the facility."

Has this happened at the Tucson facility before?

"No. Of the thousands of children we have served over the years, less than a fraction of one percent have absconded from our unaccompanied minor shelters."

What is the facility doing to prevent kids from running away?

"Because Southwest Key takes this incident very seriously, we have reviewed all facts of this case and reported it to all necessary authorities. All of Southwest Key's unaccompanied minor shelters are highly regulated by every level of government, (local, state, and federal), and each shelter is licensed by its respective, state childcare authority. Additionally, the program is required by law to maintain a certain staff to client ratio 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

Is this an all-male facility?

"No."

What ages are the children who live there?

"The children at the unaccompanied minor shelter are all under 18 years of age. For the safety of the children, we cannot go into further detail."

http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/3...tucson-shelter

Their concerns center on the safety of the Hondurans, two 16-year-old boys who ran away Tuesday, and the 17-year-old boy who ran away Wednesday.

At that age in Honduras, these "teens" are considered men, not children and they came here for money which they will not be able to get in a shelter. Perhaps the government should check the Home Depot parking lots or other place that illegals go to pick up work under the table. JMO

Originally Posted by Newmexican

At that age in Honduras, these "teens" are considered men, not children and they came here for money which they will not be able to get in a shelter. Perhaps the government should check the Home Depot parking lots or other place that illegals go to pick up work under the table. JMO

You're absolutely right! Furthermore, Honduras' homicide rate of 90.4 per 100,000 is the highest in the world ... by far. There is a good chance these MEN are not as innocent as the Tucson shelter would like the community to believe!