Neighbors Report Child Trafficking and Find Gov’t Contractors Holding Kids In ‘Black Site’ Prison

Phoenix, AZ – When concerned neighbors called police because they  believed dozens of children were being trafficked in their  neighborhood, they learned that the children were actually being held in  a black site prison operated by defense contractors. A vacant office building with dark windows in a quiet neighborhood  has become a subject of controversy after residents began documenting  the dozens of children who were transported to the building in white  vans, and then never seen again. 

The building is not licensed to hold children or to act as a shelter,  and it is owned by MVM Inc., a defense contractor that once provided  guards for CIA facilities in Iraq and has made nearly $250 million  transporting immigrant children since 2014, according to a report from Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting. 

The company’s website specifically claims that “the  current services MVM provides consist of transporting undocumented  families and unaccompanied children to Department of Health and Human  Services designated facilities—we have not and currently do not operate shelters or any other type of housing for minors.” 

However, Lianna Dunlap told Reveal that she became suspicious about  what was going on at the office building in her neighborhood that is  owned by MVM when she noticed new security cameras and extra locks on  the exterior last month—and then saw several white vans transporting  small children to the building. 

“There’s been times where I drive by and I just start  crying because, you know, it’s right behind my house. I don’t know and I  think that’s the worst part—not knowing what’s actually going on in  there and just hoping that they’re OK,” Dunlap said. 

Neighbors claimed that they saw pallets of water and boxes of food  dropped off at the building, but they never saw the children who were  escorted inside, and the darkened windows made them concerned that the  children were victims of trafficking, and that they were being harmed  inside. 

Another neighbor, Kristen Brown, told Reveal that as a mother of a  2-year-old son, she was immediately concerned about the lack of space  inside the building and the lack of access to sunlight. “My kid has the ability to run around and play, and there are 40 kids in that place that I don’t know what you’re doing with,” Brown said. 

“That, as a mom, it doesn’t feel right.” Brown also said she tried to talk to employees to ask them what was  going on. She claimed that when she asked one employee what kind of  business they were conducting, he said “Transportation,” and when she questioned what they were transporting, he said, “Humans.” 

When concerned neighbors called the police to report the suspicious  activity, they were told that it was completely legal and authorized by  the government. When asked for a statement, Phoenix Police Sgt. Vince  Lewis claimed that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed  that MVM was “contracted to perform that transport.” 

The report noted that when asked for a statement, a spokesperson for  MVM initially pointed to the claim that the company does not run  shelters or childcare facilities. However, when the spokesperson learned  that neighbors had video evidence of the children being escorted into  the building, the tone changed and the spokesperson insisted that the  building was being used as “a temporary holding place” for children before they are transported elsewhere. 

That “temporary” holding place held dozens of children for at least 3 weeks before the neighbors claimed that they saw five unmarked 12-passenger vans arrive at the building and fill up with children. Dunlap told Reveal that as soon as the workers saw her watching the  scene from her kitchen window, they moved their vehicles in an attempt  to block her view. 

As The Free Thought Project has reported,  this is not the first time groups of young children were seen being  transported to discreet locations. Last month, around the same time that  the children in Phoenix were taken away from the dark office building,  cellphone footage was released that showed a group of young migrant  girls—some of them with their heads covered by dark blankets—being  escorted from a facility in New York City and loaded into vehicles in  the middle of the night.   

Following the release of the videos from concerned neighbors in  Phoenix, Gov. Doug Ducey’s office released a statement claiming the  Arizona Department of Health Services has been ordered to monitor MVM  Inc. 

“The governor has been very clear: every child deserves to be  properly cared for, and he takes issues around child safety very  seriously,” the statement said. “While DHS has not received a  formal complaint about this issue, they have proactively assigned staff  to visit the site. Additionally, our office has instructed them to  monitor this situation closely to ensure child and public safety comes  first.”

 Several questions remain—Where did the dozens of young children come  from and why were they locked in a small, dark building with no access  to sunlight for several weeks?

 What transpired inside the building  during that time, and were any of the children harmed mentally,  physically or emotionally as a result? Have the children been reunited  with their parents? And, most importantly, will anyone be held  accountable for the apparent inhumane treatment of these young, innocent  children?