A day with Border Patrol: imperiled infant, distraught dad

McALLEN, Texas (AP) - Customs and Border Protection has allowed news media organizations to tour a 77,000-square-foot facility in McAllen, Texas, that houses families and children who enter the country illegally.

Families and children rested under shiny thermal blankets in cells of chain-link fences adorned with high-hanging televisions. After a similar facility in Arizona closed, McAllen’s “Ursula” processing center became the agency’s only holding facility in the country with chain-link fences to detain immigrants.

There are separate pods for boys who came alone, girls who came alone and parents with their young children. Some older children are split from their parents to avoid having them mix with much younger children.