The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) has spent more than $13 billion sponsoring unaccompanied minors at the United States border since 2012, according to recent reporting from OpenTheBooks.com. This staggering figure is even worse in the context of a shocking February report from The New York Times, which revealed that while HHS follows up with minors one month after their sponsor placements, the department has been unable to get ahold of at least 85,000 children in just the past two years.
Unaccompanied children are defined by the ORR as those under the age of 18 with “no lawful immigration status in the United States” and no parent or legal guardian to “provide care and physical custody.” The Unaccompanied Children (UC) program places minors attempting to enter the U.S. with state-licensed sponsors in an attempt to avoid the high risk of exploitation children face in Mexican border towns.
This year, the ORR spent $2.7 billion to sponsor unaccompanied minors at a rate of $18,000 per child. For reference, the cost to educate per student in Texas, where most of the UC program spending occurs, is $9,871.
Recent reports show the ORR losing track of some children as quickly as one month after placement. ORR policy is to call a child at their placement to ensure their well-being after a month, but over the last two years, the agency failed to reach more than 85,000 children.
At their sponsorships across the country, many unaccompanied children across
