Ursula is the colloquial name for the Central Processing Center, the largest
U.S. Customs and Border Protection detention center for undocumented immigrants. The facility is a retrofitted warehouse that can hold more than 1,000 people. It was opened in 2014 on W. Ursula Avenue in
McAllen, Texas. In June 2018, it gained notoriety for the practice of keeping children in large
cages made of
chain-link fencing.
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About
The center, better known as "Ursula," is the largest immigration processing and detention center run by the Border Patrol and the Customs and Border Protection Agency.warehouse
A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities, ...
which was leased by the federal government and modified to be able to hold 1,000 children.Mexico–United States border
The Mexico–United States border ( es, frontera Estados Unidos–México) is an international border separating Mexico and the United States, extending from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border trav ...
unaccompanied or who have been separated from their families are supposed to only stay in this type of processing center for under 72 hours.ABC News
ABC News is the journalism, news division of the American broadcast network American Broadcasting Company, ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other progra ...
reported in June 2019 that Dolly Lucio Sevier, a board-certified doctor, visited Ursula after a flu outbreak at the facility that resulted in five infants requiring to enter a neonatal intensive care unit
A neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), also known as an intensive care nursery (ICN), is an intensive care unit (ICU) specializing in the care of ill or premature newborn infants. Neonatal refers to the first 28 days of life. Neonatal care, as k ...
. Sevier wrote that a medical declaration that the "conditions within which he migrant minorsare held could be compared to torture facilities ... extreme cold temperatures, lights on 24 hours a day, no adequate access to medical care, basic sanitation, water, or adequate food." All of the 39 children she assessed showed signs of trauma.
See also
* Immigration detention in the United States
The United States government holds tens of thousands of immigrants in detention under the control of Customs and Border Protection (CBP; principally the Border Patrol) and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Immigrants are detained for ...
References
External links
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*ANNE FLAHERTY and CALVIN WOODWARD
AP FACT CHECK: 2014 photo wrongly used to hit Trump policies
- May 30, 2018
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Adoption, fostering, orphan care and displacement
Articles containing video clips
Immigration detention centers and prisons in the United States
Immigration to the United States
McAllen, Texas
2018 in American politics
Trump administration controversies
2014 establishments in Texas
United States Border Patrol