Protestors greeted Melania Trump at a migrant facility in Phoenix during her border tour, with a giant balloon-like figure that resembled President Donald Trump towering over the people gathered
The hecklers were waiting for the first lady outside the Southwest Key migrant facility
There were several dozen people with signs that read, 'End All Cages. Free the Parents and Children
' Some called for President Trump to be impeached. Others had obscenities on them
As the first lady's motorcade left, the protest attempted to chase it on foot but was held back by police
Melania Trump's itinerary was kept under wraps until the first lady arrived at each of her stops
She started her day in Tucson before moving on to Phoenix. Her communications director, Stephanie Grisham, explained that, having worked in Arizona politics, she knows how quickly protests can form and there's a special sensitivity for White House officials after recent events
Several administration officials have faced public protests over President Trump's 'zero tolerance' immigration policy
The first lady is in Arizona, for a visit to the southern border of the United States - but this time without her controversial jacket
Her spokesperson also said Melania Trump had been informed of the newspaper shooting in Maryland and wished to send her thoughts and prayers to all those affected
Melania Trump's second trip to the border wasn't overshadowed by her fashion choices like her first trip made to Texas last week
The first lady boarded her plane Thursday morning wearing a black shirt and white slacks for the flight
She was not wearing her green $39 Zara jacket and it's slogan on the back: 'I really don't care, do u' that overshadowed her last trip to the border
At the Southwest Key migrant facility in Phoenix, Alexia Rodriguez, Southwest Key vice-president, welcomed the first lady, who greeted all in attendance warmly
'We have been around for 20 years and this is a licensed child-care facility,' Rodriguez said
'The primary work we do here is to try to do a safe reunification.'The first lady said: 'It's great to be here and I wanted to come here last week
I was in Texas and I saw the facility where children are. So I wanted to come here and see your facility and meet the children
I want to thank all of you … Let me know what I can do to help you.'Behind the facility was a playground, a large yard, a pool and a basketball court
Inside what appeared to be a classroom, teaching material about the solar system hung on the walls, as well as number charts and alphabet charts
On another wall, hung posters about 'Plant Science.'Vibrant paintings hung on the wall
One included words in English and Spanish, including 'DIVERSIDAD' AND 'familia.' The first lady visited three rooms at the shelter
The first room had four little girls and six boys. The walls were painted purple and blue and a video camera was hung on the wall
The children each had a white piece of paper and were working on a construction project with rectangles, circles and squares that would ultimately make a green, red and yellow dog
A plush elephant sat on one shelf on the wall. A plush monkey sat on another.Melania Trump greeted the children in Spanish: 'Hola! Hola! Hello! How are you? Como estas?'They responded, 'Bien
'She crouched down to look them in the eyes asked what they were doing and told them their projects were 'beautiful
'The first lady asked the children about their ages.'Who is five,' she asked.Six hands shot up in the air
'Which are princes,' she asked them?Some hands went up.'Which are princesses,' she asked
Other hands went in the air and the kids giggled.The first lady held up five fingers and asked one little girl, 'Are you five?'The girl held up her hand and give the first lady a high five
The first lady and girl then fist-bumped.A staffer told the class, 'Ella es Mrs. Trump, la Primera Dama de Los Estados Unidos
'The first lady asked a girl if she liked it at the shelter and if she was making friends
The girl nodded.The first lady asked the class who liked soccer.Several said they did
'Me, too,' she said smiling.The campus also included a home for a tortoise, several plastic toddler-sized playsets
Melania Trump asked the children questions, which had to be translated by their teacher
'Do you like it here with some friends?' Mrs. Trump asked.'Si,' said one little girl
'Do you like to dance with some music?' Mrs. Trump asked.The girl shook her head. 'They're honest,' her teacher said
The second classroom wasn't really a classroom but a multi-use space that served as a lobby, kitchenette and play room
On the walls were posters with grievance procedures and program regulations. It smelled of cleaning products
The play area had toys, books and a turned-off television. Two empty infant high chairs were lined up on the wall by the waste receptacle, and on the other side was a phone booth with a sign above it: 'Direct Line / Linea Directa
' On an easel was written: 'Social Studies theme: USA Money / Coins' with a circle underneath
There were 10 more children, maybe slightly older, learning in English. The first lady entered as the children sat at a table working on art
She pointed to a piece of artwork by a young girl in a pink shirt and pigtails.'Beautiful!' Mrs
Trump said.'Gracias,' the girl replied. 'Say 'gracias' en ingles,' the teacher said
'Thank you,' the girl said.The first lady spoke to the children and the teacher.Finally, the infant room where the babies were sleeping
A marker board on the wall read 'Headcount 6.28.2018: 9 little ones.' It listed their names and ages, ranging from six months to two years
Next to the children's names were the names of four mothers who were also in the room
They, too, were all juveniles. There were five other staffers in the room for a ratio of 1:1
There were the usual trappings of a nursery: a baby swing, two bright yellow wooden rocking chairs
On an alphabet carpet the boys and girls in various stages of walking, toddled around
One gummed an alphabet block. Another stacked giant building blocks on each other
In a book center, one mom thumbed through a book while a child played next to her
The room smelled like baby powder.The wall was covered in Disney cartoon characters: Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Tigger and Winnie the Pooh
Toys included plastic dolls, rattlers a plastic kitchen and small plastic food toys
One boy was playing some kind of bowling game with a soft ball and pins.The first lady walked in and a little girl zoomed toward her, but then ran right past Mrs
Trump and into the arms of a teacher.'Nice to meet you,' Mrs. Trump laughed.'Where are the moms?' she asked
One was pointed out to her. 'Where is your baby?' she asked the girl, who pointed out a boy who was 14 months old
'Wow, so cute,' FLOTUS said.The young mother said she had been at the shelter for 12 days
Melania Trump asked if the moms go to school and was told they do. The first lady also asked if breastfeeding moms are able to feed their children
The staffer told her they can.Outside on the campus were a small, shaded playground, a small swimming pool, a small dirt field with soccer goals, and a basketball court
At her first stop earlier in the day in Tucson, Arizona, she visited a Customs and Border Patrol facility, where she held a roundtable discussion with Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U
S. Marshals Service and a local rancher.'I want to thank you for all your hard work
I know how difficult and dangerous your daily jobs are,' Melania Trump told agents
'I am here to support you and help any way I can.'At the roundtable, Kevin McAleenan, Commissioner of U
S. Customs and Border Protection, told the first lady 1,600 people – including 539 in families – tried to enter the United States illegally on Wednesday
Rodolfo Karisch, Chief Patrol Agent of the Tucson Sector Border Patrol said immigration enforcement has been characterized as 'cruel and heartless, but that is not the case
''There's been a lot of misinformation put out to the general public about our facilities,' Karsich said
He showed the first lady a photo of a six-year-old boy crossing the desert with a coke bottle and a note
'People also have to understand the danger of the desert, of the heat,' he said.Joyce Silva, a Border Patrol Agent, told Mrs
Trump she has been a border patrol agent for more than 20 years. 'I love my job. As a mother, it hurts to see the children
They don't know what's going on,' she said. She says her job is to get them to safety and give them food, water, and 'toys if they want them
' She's also given children her lunch in the field.'Thank you so much for all that you do,' the first lady told her
After the roundtable, the first lady went to an adjacent building to get a tour of a short-term detention facility
This part of the facility had eight holding rooms, each with a different label – 'Males,' 'Juveniles,' 'Families' and removable status signs marked 'Processed' or 'Unprocessed
' Some rooms also showed a maximum capacity, from 9 to 13 people. All the cell doors were open
The first part of the first lady's tour was in an elevated command pod called 'The Bubble
' She later came out into the area with the detention cells. The first cell was for families
There was a mother and a 3-year-old in that cell, called 'Family Unit 8,' and the boy repeatedly peeked out of the door
The first lady smiled at him and said, 'Hi! How are you?' The little boy later turned and looked at all the cameras before returning to the cell
His mother appeared to be in her older teens.Also there were 10 boys, ages 14 to 17
Six of them sat silently and expressionless on a metal bench and on toddler-sized chairs outside one of the detention cells, wearing blue wrist bands on their right hands
They were watching the movie 'Ferdinand,' which was on mute. Spanish-language captions flashed across the screen
They wore boots with all their laces removed. The largest and probably oldest boy nervously shook his legs, but they were otherwise motionless and apparently unfazed by the appearance of the first lady
Above them were pictures from coloring books of a school bus, a sports car, an ambulance and a dog
Nearby was a cart filled with apple juice boxes, peanut butter crackers, baby wipes, applesauce, and boxed toddler food
Underneath the cart were unopened take and toss sippy cups.A Mylar blanket could be seen inside of one holding cell
Another contained packaged wet towels for migrants to clean up during their stay
A wooden shelf intended for inter-office memos was also used to hold diapers.All of the detainees were from Guatemala or Honduras
Since this is a short-term holding and processing facility, all had been there less than 72 hours
Melania Trump communications director Stephanie Grisham said the purpose of the trip is to hear what they were seeing at the border
Grisham said the trip was planned a couple days after Melania Trump returned from Texas last week, where she was unable to visit a Department of Homeland Security Facility because of flooding
She said the first lady is taking the trip with the president's encouragement.'She wasn't able to visit a DHS facility, and she wants to learn from the people on the front lines at the border,' Grisham said
The legal situation for immigrant children has also changed, Grisham said, 'and she's anxious to learn how they're implementing the new process
There was a court case that threw a wrench in the works.'Grisham said the first lady continues to discuss the issue with the president, but did not elaborate
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She was the picture of professionalism in the striking outfit, wearing a black 3/4 sleeved fitted knit top, pointed Christian Louboutin flats, and a crisp pair of ivory white pants with a black grosgrain ribbon trim that tied the whole look together
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'She's advocating for quality care for these children under difficult circumstances
'Grisham said that the first lady has given her husband her views on controversial political issues throughout his presidency, but conceded that it's never been as public as with the issue of immigrant children
'I would say this is very visible. She cares about children deeply,' Grisham said
'She also believes in strong border laws and treating everybody equally.'There are no other senior administration officials accompanying the first lady on the trip
The visit comes a week after Melania Trump traveled to the border town of McAllen, Texas, to meet with officials there dealing with detained families
She also met with children at one of the facilities.But that trip was overshadowed by a jacket the first lady wore to and from Texas that said on the back: 'I really don't care, do u?' The first lady's spokeswoman said it was just a jacket, with no hidden message, but interest in her baffling fashion choice was a distraction from the first lady's trip
Her husband, President Donald Trump, undercut the no-message message by tweeting that his wife was saying she really doesn't care about the 'fake news' media
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