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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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. The detention and processing center was opened in 2014 at 3700 W. Ursula Avenue in McAllen, Texas. The facility is made from a former

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 rural–urban fringe, out ...

which was leased by the federal government and modified to be able to hold 1,000 children. Children are kept in cages made of chain-link fencing inside of the 77,000 square-foot warehouse. Minors who arrive at the

Mexico–United States border The international border separating Mexico and the United States extends from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traverses a variety of terrains, ranging from urban areas to deserts. It is the List of ...

unaccompanied or who have been separated from their families are supposed to only stay in this type of processing center for under 72 hours. After processing, minors are sent to facilities run by the

Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

. The facility also houses adults and individuals are separated based on how they crossed into the United States. Filming or photography is not allowed inside of the facility. During the weekend of June 16, 2018, reporters were allowed to tour the facility (without cameras).

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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. The NICU is divided into several areas, including a critical c ...

. 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.

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* *ANNE FLAHERTY and CALVIN WOODWARD
AP FACT CHECK: 2014 photo wrongly used to hit Trump policies
- May 30, 2018 {{coord, 26.1590, N, 98.2703, W, region:US-TX_type:landmark, display=title 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 First Trump administration controversies 2014 establishments in Texas United States Border Patrol

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