Unaccompanied Children Released to Sponsors by State and County, FY 2014-Present

There has been substantial growth in the number of children arriving without a parent or guardian at the U.S-Mexico border since 2011. Unaccompanied children apprehended or determined inadmissible by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are referred to the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which places children in ORR-funded shelters or other facilities and undertakes efforts along with ORR-funded staff to determine if the children have a parent or other potential sponsor with whom they can live while awaiting their immigration proceedings. Children are released to approved sponsors after a screening process.

This interactive tool shows the number of unaccompanied minors released to sponsors by state and the state's share of children released from federal custody annually since 2014. The tool also provides select county-level data. Scroll through the fiscal year (FY) filter to show all years for which data are available or to narrow to a specific year. Hover over a state or territory to see data for that area. County-level data is listed on the right-hand panel. The bar graph under the map changes depending on the selected state or territory. If a state or territory is not selected, the bar graphs will display nationwide results. And to see numbers and rankings for states and counties for a year or all years, go to “Get the Data.”