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The federal government is quietly expanding its use of shelters to house infants, toddlers and other young asylum-seekers. One Phoenix facility housed 12 children ages 5 and under, Reveal has learned, some as young as 3 months old, all without their mothers.As part of this expansion, the government has designated three facilities to house newborns and unaccompanied teen mothers. (Bogado, 7/13)

The dirt lot beneath the border bridge here is a parking area again, not an outdoor jail. When the Border Patrol station next door had 2,000 detainees spilling out of its cells this spring, families slept on the ground beneath the overpass in a razor-wire enclosure. On Friday, the station had six. Cells that were standing room only now stand empty. (Miroff, 7/13)

An unofficial commemorative coin has been circulating among Border Patrol agents at the U.S./Mexico border, mocking the task of caring for migrant children and other duties that have fallen to agents as families cross into the U.S. On the front, the coin declares “KEEP THE CARAVANS COMING” under an image of a massive parade of people carrying a Honduran flag — a caricature of the “caravan” from last fall, which started in Honduras and attracted thousands of people as it moved north. (While the caravan included many women and children, the only visible figures on the coin appear to be adult men.) (Lind, 7/12)

Vice President Pence’s Friday visit to a Border Patrol detention facility in Texas didn’t go according to plan. Meant to pressure Democrats to address the migrant crisis at the southern border, the visit instead appeared to horrify those who accompanied Pence and raised pointed questions about Customs and Border Protection, America’s most troubled law enforcement agency. Nearly 400 migrants were crammed into a converted vehicle sallyport; many hadn’t showered in weeks, and space was so tight there was no room for cots for them to sleep. “The stench was horrendous,” the Washington Post’s Josh Dawsey wrote, noting that Border Patrol agents were wearing face masks and saying, “Pence appeared to scrunch his nose when entering the facility, stayed for a moment and left.” (Graff, 7/15)

The nationwide immigration raids that President Trump said would begin Sunday failed to materialize on the streets of major U.S. cities, even as his statement cast a cloud of fear that kept many families indoors. Immigration enforcement authorities said their plans to track down migrants with deportation orders would continue, but their operations over the weekend appeared more akin to routine actions rather than the mass roundups the president promised. (Hauslohner and Miroff, 7/14)

Local officials from the Texas-Mexico border, civil rights attorneys and the heads of law enforcement agencies spent hours Friday detailing for Texas House members how the large number of migrants crossing the southern border is straining several government entities. And lawmakers discussed ways the state could help with the ongoing border crisis that has drawn national attention and spurred partisan battles in Washington, D.C. (Korte, 7/12)

The 1,300-bed facility opened on June 30 to alleviate the dangerous overcrowding, prolonged detention, and filthy conditions at some Border Patrol facilities. Around 200 children, all teenagers, are currently housed there. (Roldan, 7/13)