Unaccompanied Immigrant Children – Demographic Data

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This page was archived on June 15, 2022 and will no longer be updated.

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Research on the Unauthorized Minors Arriving at US Border Crossings

Between Oct. 2010 and Sep. 2015, the US Border Patrol apprehended 206,669 unaccompanied immigrant children crossing into the United States, with over 56% of the children crossing via the Rio Grande Valley station in Edinburg, Texas. Over 92% of the children were from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. About 72% of the children were male, and approximately 72% were 15 to 17 years old.

Unaccompanied immigrant children, also referred to as unaccompanied alien children by some government agencies, are children up to 17 years old who have attempted to cross into the United States illegally without an adult. Primarily from Central America and arriving though the US/Mexico border, children who are apprehended by US Border Patrol are transferred to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which is an office of the Department of Health and Human Services. ORR releases the children to sponsors, preferably a parent, legal guardian, or another adult family member in the United States, and arranges legal representation while the children await immigration proceedings.

The data below, from the ORR and the US Border Patrol, are calculated by fiscal years, which run from October to September.

1. Unaccompanied Immigrant Children by Age
2. Unaccompanied Immigrant Children by Gender
3. Unaccompanied Immigrant Children by Country of Origin
4. Apprehension of Unaccompanied Immigrant Children by Border and Border Patrol Station
5. US State to which Unaccompanied Immigrant Children Were Released to Sponsors

I. Unaccompanied Immigrant Children by Age

Age	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
0-12	11%	11%	14%	21%	17%
13-14	10%	11%	13%	16%	14%
15-16	38%	39%	40%	36%	38%
17	40%	38%	34%	27%	30%

II. Unaccompanied Immigrant Children by Gender

Gender	2012	2013	2014	2015
Female	23%	27%	34%	32%
Male	77%	73%	66%	68%

III. Unaccompanied Immigrant Children by Country of Origin: Where They Come From

Country of Origin	2012	2013	2014	2015
El Salvador	27%	26%	29%	29%
Guatemala	34%	37%	32%	45%
Honduras	27%	30%	34%	17%
Mexico	8%	3%	<2%	6%
All Other Countries	4%	5%	<3%	3%

IV. Apprehension of Unaccompanied Immigrant Children by Border and Border Patrol Station

Border & Border Patrol Station	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	Total
Coastal Border Total	89	42	28	44	65	51	319
Miami, FL	57	27	18	28	28	20	178
New Orleans, LA	28	14	5	11	21	26	105
Ramey in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico	4	1	5	5	16	5	36
Northern Border Total	122	76	50	30	25	14	317
Blaine, WA	14	8	12	8	3	2	47
Buffalo, NY	46	25	18	5	7	2	103
Detroit, MI	33	21	10	6	1	4	75
Grand Forks, ND	14	7	2	4	4	3	34
Havre, MT	3	3	0	0	1	0	7
Houlton, ME	0	0	1	0	0	1	2
Spokane, WA	2	3	2	3	2	0	12
Swanton, VT	10	9	5	4	7	2	37
Southwest Border Total	18,411	15,949	24,403	38,759	68,541	39,970	206,033
Big Bend National Park, TX	197	189	168	125	256	839	1,744
Del Rio, TX	1,014	1,113	1,618	2,135	3,268	2,285	11,433
El Centro in Imperial, CA	448	457	498	434	662	668	3,167
El Paso, TX	1,011	697	659	744	1,029	1,662	5,802
Laredo, TX	1,570	1,608	2,658	3,795	3,800	2,459	15,890
Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg, TX	4,977	5,236	10,759	21,553	49,959	23,864	116,348
San Diego in Chula Vista, CA	980	549	524	656	954	1,084	4,747
Tucson, AZ	7,998	5,878	7,239	9,070	8,262	6,019	44,466
Yuma, AZ	216	222	280	247	351	1,090	2,406
Total	18,622	16,067	24,481	38,833	68,631	40,035	206,669

V. US State to which Unaccompanied Immigrant Children Were Released to Sponsors: Where They End Up

	Total Number of Unaccompanied Immigrant Children Released
State	2014	2015
Total	53,515	27,520
Alabama	786	813
Alaska	4	2
Arizona	295	169
Arkansas	307	184
California	5,831	3,576
Colorado	426	242
Connecticut	552	207
Delaware	212	145
DC	375	198
Florida	5,445	2,885
Georgia	2,047	1,028
Hawaii	8	2
Idaho	19	11
Illinois	552	301
Indiana	448	233
Iowa	235	200
Kansas	312	247
Kentucky	413	270
Louisiana	1,755	465
Maine	17	4
Maryland	3,884	1,784
Massachusetts	1,372	723
Michigan	193	130
Minnesota	304	244
Mississippi	290	204
Missouri	222	169
Montana	1	2
Nebraska	351	286
Nevada	228	139
New Hampshire	35	14
New Jersey	2,680	1,440
New Mexico	41	18
New York	5,955	2,615
North Carolina	2,064	833
North Dakota	4	2
Ohio	635	476
Oklahoma	377	225
Oregon	115	120
Pennsylvania	660	333
Rhode Island	203	180
South Carolina	588	292
South Dakota	48	62
Tennessee	1,294	757
Texas	7,709	3,209
Utah	119	62
Vermont	3	1
Virginia	3,887	1,676
Washington	391	285
West Virginia	30	12
Wisconsin	85	39
Wyoming	8	6

Sources:

US Border Patrol, “US Border Patrol Total Monthly UAC Apprehensions by Sector (FY 2010-FY 2015),” www.cbp.gov (accessed Jan. 29, 2016)

US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Refugee Resettlement, “Unaccompanied Children’s Services,” www.acf.hhs.gov (accessed Jan. 29, 2016)