This story was updated to include the comments of Kansas Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley.
Two Kansas lawmakers are asking for more clarity on the legal status of and facilities for unaccompanied children detained in Kansas after attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border.
Kansas Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley and Rep. John Alcala, both Democrats from Topeka, held a press conference this morning asking The Villages, the agency with which the government has contracted to hold the children, for more information about who is being held at the facility and their legal status.
The Villages provides services for “children in need,” and has contracts with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Kansas Department of Corrections Juvenile Services.
Alcala said he tried to arrange a tour of the facility in Topeka this week, but the organization has not yet allowed him to come in.
“I toured the facility about a decade ago. It was a fine facility then, and we just asked that we would be able to come in and tour the facility, see the living conditions, what they look like today, and maybe visit with some of the administration and ask them a few questions,” Alcala said.
“They told us that the only way we could come in, we would have to fill out a form, it would take two weeks to get approved, and even then there was no guarantee that we could come into the facility.”
Alcala said that while he was trying to get access, the organization posted several “no trespassing” signs around the facility. He said it used to be an open facility, but that policy has changed since the organization secured its contract with the federal government.
Alcala said he has a list of questions he would like answered.
“It’s real simple. What are the conditions of the facility? Who’s accountable? What’s the plan to reunite these children with their parents? What’s the plan to get the unaccompanieds out of detention and with family? And who’s making the money off this? Simple questions that should be answered, that should be transparent to the public.”
The number of migrant children being held in Kansas is unclear, but The Village's government contract allows it to hold 50. The Village is the only facility in Kansas where migrant children are being held.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday ending the contraversial practice of separating migrant children from their families when they cross the border, but the status of the thousands of children currently detained without their parents, including those in Kansas, remains unclear.Hensley said he submitted the form to visit the facility — required by federal regulations — yesterday, so the earliest he'd be able to tour the facility is July 5. He said The Villages is a youth residential center licensed by the state of Kansas and the facility has performed well in the past, so he believes the migrant children being held there now are being treated well.
Hensley called on Gov. Jeff Colyer to find out the number of children being housed in Kansas and create a plan for them to return to their families.
“We believe he should put politics aside and look into how these children will be reunited with their families, because it’s in their best interest,” Hensley said.
Nicolas Telep is KCUR's morning news intern. You can follow him on Twitter @NDTelep.
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