FILE- In this June 21, 2018, photo shoes and a teddy bear, brought by a group of U.S. mayors, are piled up outside a holding facility for immigrant children in Tornillo, Texas, near the Mexican border. Records obtained by The Associated Press highlight some of the problems that plague government facilities for immigrant youth. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton, File)
HOUSTON – Records obtained by The Associated Press highlight some of the problems that plague government facilities for immigrant youth.
In one facility, a 6-year-old tried to run away after another boy threw his shoes into the toilet. Three employees had to pull the boy off a fence and carry him back into a building.
In another, a 20-year-old woman who'd lied that she was 17 sneaked a needle out of a sewing class and used it to cut herself.
About 14,000 immigrant children are currently detained in more than 100 facilities nationally, including about 5,900 in Texas. The Trump administration presented the facilities as caring, safe places for immigrant children.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
