Is there a child sex trafficking facility in Tucson, Arizona? No, that's not true: It's a new migrant facility, built to house people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border while federal agencies review their cases.
The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) published on June 8, 2021. The post includes a photo and reads:
this is a child sex trafficking facility here in tucson. the address is 4300 e los reales rd by the airport
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Fri Jun 11 17:50:46 2021 UTC)
The post did not include any sourcing to substantiate its claim about child sex trafficking or to refute public statements that it is a Border Patrol complex set up to handle rising numbers of unaccompanied minors.
It is true, however, that there is a new facility near Tucson International Airport on East Los Reales Road. Local media has reported extensively about the migrant shelter, which was built to help house people crossing the U.S.- Mexico border.
According to KVOA, the new facility is capable of sheltering up to 500 people, including children. The Tucson station identified the address of the facility as 4550 East Los Reales Road.
Border Patrol is building this tent-like facility on Los Reales Rd. to temporarily house migrants. I'm told this space will be used to shelter unaccompanied minors. The story coming up in a few minutes at 6. @KVOA pic.twitter.com/GN1Zck9yKC
-- Eric Fink (@EricMillerFink) April 13, 2021
KOLD News 13 toured the new facility, which was reportedly constructed in just 20 days. See video of that tour here.
Lead Stories reached out to the Tucson mayor's office and the Tucson Sector Border Patrol to ask about the Facebook claim and the new facility. We will update, as appropriate, if we receive a response.
