1/ Last summer, people outraged by Trump’s family separation policy pressed local officials to end their immigrant detention contracts.

One CA community made a different choice. The reason? Supporters said they were doing it for the good of the children. revealnews.org/article/how-ja…

2/ Yolo County, near Sacramento, is one of two places where the federal government holds migrant kids in jail-like detention centers.

The other, in Virginia, has been accused of strapping children to chairs and locking them in seclusion as punishment.

3/ Yolo County officials say their facility is better. But in court, kids have said the detention center is still “a jail,” “a horrible place,” and that they “feel desperate” inside. sfchronicle.com/nation/article…

4/ Inspectors with the CA Attorney General’s office found particular problems with mental health care, including “extremely high” use of psychiatric medication. Nine of the 19 youths investigators spoke to said they had attempted suicide in the last year.
oag.ca.gov/news/press-rel…

5/ But local activists say their facility is better than wherever else the Trump administration might send the kids. Locals visit to talk with kids and play games. They teach meditation, yoga and music. They’ve painted Pokemon characters and murals on the cinder block walls.

6/ Yet Francisco Dominguez, a local radio host, says well-meaning people in Yolo County are fooling themselves.

“It takes a hell of a savior complex to really believe that a kid in your jail is better off than being with his family,” he said.

7/ Last week, the federal government said it would stop paying for the county's education and enrichment programs to support migrant kids.

“I’m not interested in us continuing to do this when we have such an unpredictable partner," said Yolo County Supervisor Don Saylor.

8/ County leaders scheduled a June 25 vote on the future of the program. Ending it would leave the federal government with just one secure detention center for migrant kids, in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. whsv.com/content/news/H…

9/ Reporter @patrickmichels is staying on this story. For his latest updates, subscribe to our newsletter. revealnews.org/newsletter