John Kelly joins the Board of Directors of Caliburn International, the company that operates the largest shelter for unaccompanied migrant children – [Exclusive]

In April, protesters in front of the country's largest facility for unaccompanied migrant children noticed that a familiar face was entering the huge fenced site of Homestead, Florida: the former chief of staff the White House. John Kelly. Shortly after, a local television channel recorded a sequence showing that it was going up at the back of a golf cart while it was visiting the premises.

The reason for his presence was unclear, but Caliburn International confirmed Friday at CBS News that Kelly had joined his board. Caliburn is the parent company of Comprehensive Health Services, which operates Homestead and three other unaccompanied migrant child accommodation centers in Texas.

Prior to joining Trump's administration in January 2017, Kelly was a board member of DC Capital Partners, an investment company owned by Caliburn.

Caliburn's board includes other former high-ranking military members, including retired General Anthony C. Zinni, Admiral James G. Stavridis and Rear-Admiral Kathleen Martin. The company's portfolio includes work in various defense sectors.

"With four decades of military and humanitarian leadership, an in-depth understanding of global business, and an understanding of global economic drivers, General Kelly is a strong strategic asset to our team," said James Van Dusen, Caliburn's CEO. "Our board of directors remains extremely focused on providing advice on the safety and well-being of unaccompanied minors entrusted to our care by the Department of Health and Social Services to meet a very urgent need to taking care of these people and helping them to find them unaccompanied minors. "

Kelly joined DC Capital's board of directors in February 2016 and resigned in January 2017 when he was confirmed as Secretary of Homeland Security. Kelly changed jobs in July 2017 to become Chief of Staff to President Trump, a position he left at the end of 2018.

During Kelly's tenure, the administration has pursued ambitious immigration control changes, and the average length of stay of an unaccompanied migrant child in custody in the United States has skyrocketed.

Over the last year, Comprehensive Health Services, the only privately owned business operating accommodation centers, has become one of the most dominant players in the industry. Last August, he obtained three licenses for facilities in Texas, totaling 500 beds. In December, Homestead's facilities were commissioned. expansion has a capacity of 1,250 beds at 3,200.

Located on several acres of federal land adjacent to an airbase, this facility is the only site in the country not to be subject to regular inspections by child protection experts from the United States. # 39; State.

The teens sleep in dormitories lined with bunk beds, ranging from small rooms that can accommodate 12 younger children to huge hallways shared by up to 200 boys, aged 17, in rows of beds roughly at the shoulder width.

During a tour in February, a program coordinator told CBS News that older children preferred cavernous digs. "They say it's like a slumber party," she said.

The days start at 6 am and follow a strict schedule, as children move in single file, from building to building, under the supervision of a staff of more than 2,300 people.

Under an agreement with a federal court, known as the Flores Settlement, unaccompanied migrants are supposed to be housed in "unsecured" facilities, which means that children can not be prevented from being detained. To go and come as they pleased. The facility administrator stated that this was technically the case at Homestead, but acknowledged that the facility is surrounded by a high fence that is covered and monitored by a large team of private security contractors.

Harsh security is one of many issues raised repeatedly by lawyers charged with monitoring compliance with Flores. In a letter to the Department of Justice on December 31, Homestead and a dozen other facilities explained what they saw as violations of the agreement.

Last October, Caliburn filed regulatory filings announcing an initial public offering, but canceled the plans in March. On April 14, the Financial Times reported that DC Capital was seeking to sell 75% of the company. The company did not comment on the reported sale offer.

Federal contract records indicate that Comprehensive has received at least $ 222 million to operate Homestead between July 7, 2018 and April 20, 2019 and could receive significantly more – payments of up to $ 341 million by November for continued operation of the expanded site.

Although Comprehensive and DC Capital appear to have benefited financially from their contracts with the government during and after Kelly's tenure as chief of staff at the White House, Richard Briffault, a Columbia Law School professor, said Kelly would not break any rule.

"It looks like it's running between raindrops, it does not look great, but it's probably not going to break the rules directly," Briffault told CBS News. Briffault said that government officials could not benefit from their involvement in cases involving specific parties, which means that while serving in the White House, Kelly could not directly influence any decision to award a contract to a company. DC Capital company.

Delaney Marsco, ethics counselor at the Nonprofit Campaign Legal Center, said her first question would be to ask Kelly if she had ever consulted with ethics officials about participation in the formulation of policies relating to unaccompanied minors.

"The fact is that when he was in the White House, the government took measures that increased the population of people who were in those facilities, which benefited his former employer. kind of situation that explains why we have the ethics clause. "Marsco said.

Now that he has left the White House, Kelly is not allowed to lobby for five years, but is free to return to his former company. Meanwhile, he can not attempt to influence government policies that might benefit the company.

"It's a classic revolving door," Briffault said. "Our system is designed in some ways to have this revolving door.We assume, and we have been doing it for a long time, that (some public sector officials) come from the private sector, and that they will eventually return.