Mr. Cotton runs the orphanage in the junk heaps of the San Diego district outside of Los Angeles. He is played by Wood Harris. Mr. Cotton seems to enjoy taunting and threatening the children, who are employed in reclaiming electronic components. The children are generally available for sale.
He's not happy to see LAPD, but apparently runs an above-board business and has records dating back to 2019 and before.
He mentions that the orphanages are built from the debris of launch facilities, "which is as close as any of these will ever get to off-world".