States with established Central American immigrant communities have received the most children released to sponsors this year after being arrested unaccompanied at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to federal data released Thursday.
Texas took in 4,280 of the children through July 7, followed by New York with 3,347, Florida with 3,181, California with 3,150, Virginia with 2,234 and Maryland with 2,205, said the U.S. Health and Human Services Department’s Administration for Children and Families.
In all, 30,340 unaccompanied children have been released to sponsors in 2014, often to their parents. The agency didn’t break down numbers by nationality but the vast majority were from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
Although North Carolina isn’t among the top five states, Gov. Pat McCrory said Friday that he believes many immigrant children are coming into the state without any notice from the federal government. He said he plans to have his staff look into the issue next week.
