Approximately 40 Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) were moved under the cover of darkness to the Sycamore Boys Academy in Oracle, despite the concerns and wishes of the neighbors. According to residents, they were alerted to the action at approximately 9:30 p.m. Saturday by the media seeking comments about the late night move.
All attempts to confirm the action with government officials were unsuccessful.
The residents were never contacted by state or federal officials during the week long wait for the arrival. The cloud of secrecy enhanced their already heightened fears due to their history with the Academy.
The Academy is an unfenced state licensed residential facility for juvenile delinquents. The 40 UACs are part of the border surge from Central America.
According to Border Patrol agents, who have been assigned the task of processing surge participants, older crossers are passing themselves off as minors and many are believed to be members of Central American gangs including the deadly MS-13.
Related article: Border Patrol agents ask Americans to “read past headlines”
Last week, the AZDI first reported, and DHS confirmed to ABC News, that the UACs were not receiving a meaningful health screening before being moved from the Nogales Border Patrol station to housing facilities around Arizona.
Health and safety concerns, as well as the Academy’s history, caused area resident Bob Skiba to organize an effort with his neighbors to stop the government from moving the UACs to Sycamore Boys Academy after he and other attendees heard of the plans for Sycamore by Pinal County Sheriff in a speech on immigration at a NRA women’s luncheon on July 10.
Babeu had only learned of the federal government’s plans, after being informed by “whistle blowers” within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The town of Oracle, with a population of 3,686, is a close-knit community. Just 120 miles north of the U.S. Mexico border, the town is comprised of 55 percent White and 41 percent Hispanic residents. News travels fast in the poor little town approximately 120 miles north of the U.S. Mexico border. With a per capita income of only $26,689, the residents scrape by.
According to area residents, many of their neighbors are in the country illegally and have been for years. They are productive and valued members of the community, who came to town when it was thriving -before the federal government made it nearly impossible to mine minerals. Until recently, Arizona was known for its five C’s; cattle, copper, cotton, climate, and citrus.
Residents of the community, much like their fellow residents of Arizona do not hold animus for immigrants. However, just like Oracle, resources are scarce and the residents in counties like Pinal, that are part of the cartel’s bloody drug corridor, have become overwhelmed and fearful.
The cartels run their drug loads through the desolate deserts in the lower lands of Pinal County. Signs scattered across the desert warn visitors and residents of cartel activity and the associated dangers to the innocent.
Given that the Academy is unsecured; surrounded by nothing other than scrub oak and Pine trees, the walk from the ranch to the little town, and the highway, would be a piece of cake for anyone who survived La Bestia, especially if they have a history with the cartels.
Babeu said in a press release sent out last week in anticipation of the residents’ protest that his deputies had “reached out” to the director of the Sycamore Canyon Boys Ranch who had confirmed Homeland Security had been in negotiations with the facility to temporarily house the UACs. According to Babeu the facility had increased their staff by approximately 30 employees in preparation for their anticipated arrival.
That protest, which occurred on Tuesday was attended by approximately two hundred people. The vast majority of protestors on either side of the issue had little interest in or knowledge of the residents of Oracle.
They relied on news reports, which relied upon an initial screed in a Phoenix tabloid which characterized Skiba and his neighbors as enemies of immigrants. Babeu was then accused of rallying a “lynch mob” by columnist Tim Steller with the Arizona Daily Star, who is relentless in his continued attacks on Babue, after Steller was reportedly spurned by a female officer with the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office.
The flames of confusion were fueled by local, state, federal officials who fanned them with misinformation or secrecy.
The protesters, who gathered on Tuesday, were sent home in the afternoon after they were told that the UACs would not arrive in the near future because the facility was not yet ready for their occupancy.
Only, the Oracle Fire Chief Larry Southard was forthcoming and open with the residents and the press after he conducted a preliminary walk-though of the facility as a courtesy to Academy director Ike Shipman, in anticipation of the State Fire Marshall’s inspection.
The State Fire Marshall at first tried to deny that they were going to do an inspection, and then simply refused to answers questions about the inspection or the condition of the facility.
And it is the condition of the facility and its ability to handle an increased occupancy that has Skiba and others concerned.
According to sources, the septic system is already overloaded by the currents residents. The system is drained as frequently as every three months, and a recent spillage of it into the Peppersauce Creek, was ignored by Pinal County officials who claim the private property on federal forest land is not their problem.
According to sources, the privately owned facility is taxed by Pinal County as vacant land with an assessed value of $101,944 for property tax purposes. The full cash value is $637,146, and the sale price in 2003 was $1,100,000. The legal class employed by Pinal County is “vacant land/non-profit.” The parent company has paid over $10,000 in taxes annually over the last 10 years.
The facility has an institutional kitchen much as a public school would have. According to sources, the counters, stoves, ventilation, refrigeration units, dishwashers etc., are all stainless steel, commercial style equipment. The attached dining hall appears looks like it could comfortably seat between 50 to 100 people at a time.
The property also has a church, classrooms, a 100,000 gallon water tower, a heli-pad, staff quarters, an administration building and other out-buildings that are typical of an institutional facility.
In the 1990’s when the facility was operated as the Arizona Boys Ranch it held upwards of 100 boys, at times.
Since that time, it has been virtually ignored it seems by County officials. The Sheriff’s department claims it has never been called out to the facility despite a recent and well-known report of a female worker being attacked by a resident and left in a coma for several days.
Chris Reimus, the assistant Director of the Pinal County Environmental Health department, said the County hadn’t inspected the Academy since they quit using their swimming pool a few years back. He claimed that he hasn’t conducted inspection of the kitchen because he understands “they don’t prepare food at the facility.”
The facility is reportedly licensed by the Arizona Department of Economic Security, and according to various sources, the State was advised before the general public that the UACs would settled across the state in various shelters. According to sources, Joseph Cuffari listed as the Governor’s Policy Adviser for Public Safety, was tasked with securing settlement facilities early on.
The Sycamore Boys Academy was opened by Rite of Passage of Minden, Nevada in 2007, according to the company’s newsletter. Rite of Passage also operates Canyon State Academy in Queen Creek, AZ , Ridge View Academy in Watkins, CO, Southwest Leadership Academy in Phoenix, AZ, Hillcrest Academy in Cincinnati, OH, Crescent Leadership Academy in New Orleans, LA, Sterling Charter High School in Clarke County, NV, and Silver Oak Academy in Keymar, MD.
As a national corporation providing “evidenced based care” for oppositional youth at between $3000 and $6000 a student per month, per year, there is little wonder why the school director, Ike Shipman, had little interest in reaching out to the neighbors in Oracle.
“We need to secure the borders,” said Bob Skiba, “if I was a Muslim terrorist I could walk across with no one to stop me. No one is watching the store. People want to portray us as against these kids, but this has nothing to do with kids. This has to do with a lack of trust in our government. I never thought I would speak out against my government, but we have lost trust.”
Saturday, July 19, had started with a small gathering of Oracle residents with heads bowed in prayer asking for guidance and care. When they received the call from a local television station alerting them to the arrival of the vans, many of them realized that prayer was all they had, and their government had left them in the dark while in operated under cover of darkness.
Related articles:
Oracle residents joined in protest against unaccompanied children placement
Shelter for UACs at Sycamore Boys Academy reveals Arizona childcare chaos