When a child who is not accompanied by a parent or legal guardian is apprehended by immigration authorities, the child is transferred to the care and custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). Federal law requires that ORR feed, shelter, and provide medical care for unaccompanied children until it is able to release them to safe settings with sponsors (usually family members), while they await immigration proceedings. These sponsors live in many states.
Sponsors are adults who are suitable to provide for the child’s physical and mental well-being and have not engaged in any activity that would indicate a potential risk to the child. All sponsors must pass a background check. The sponsor must agree to ensure the child’s presence at all future immigration proceedings. They also must agree to ensure the minor reports to ICE for removal from the United States if an immigration judge issues a removal order or voluntary departure order.
HHS is engaging with state officials to address concerns they may have about the care or impact of unaccompanied children in their states, while making sure the children are treated humanely and consistent with the law as they go through immigration court proceedings that will determine whether they will be removed and repatriated, or qualify for some form of relief.
HHS has strong policies in place to ensure the privacy and safety of unaccompanied children by maintaining the confidentiality of their personal information. These children may have histories of abuse or may be seeking safety from threats of violence. They may have been trafficked or smuggled. HHS cannot release information about individual children that could compromise the child’s location or identity.
The following table shows county-level data for unaccompanied children released to sponsors by the counties/county equivalents where the sponsors live, where 50 or more children have been released for FY2024 (since October 1, 2023) as of Jan. 31, 2024. This data covers 175 counties and county equivalents nationwide and comprises 32,612 of the 43,852 total children released to sponsors in this period. ACF will update this data each month. Additional data on unaccompanied children released to sponsors by county is available on the HHS website .
View unaccompanied children released to sponsors by state.
State | County | Total Number of UC Released to Sponsors in FY24 (thru Jan 2024) |
AL | Baldwin County | 58 |
AL | Jefferson County | 100 |
AL | Lee County | 54 |
AL | Madison County | 56 |
AL | Marshall County | 82 |
AL | Montgomery County | 59 |
AL | Morgan County | 53 |
AR | Pulaski County | 122 |
AR | Washington County | 73 |
AZ | Maricopa County | 456 |
CA | Alameda County | 311 |
CA | Contra Costa County | 179 |
CA | Fresno County | 152 |
CA | Kern County | 91 |
CA | Los Angeles County | 1396 |
CA | Marin County | 82 |
CA | Monterey County | 88 |
CA | Orange County | 264 |
CA | Riverside County | 207 |
CA | Sacramento County | 82 |
CA | San Bernardino County | 129 |
CA | San Diego County | 208 |
CA | San Francisco County | 130 |
CA | San Joaquin County | 84 |
CA | San Mateo County | 236 |
CA | Santa Barbara County | 63 |
CA | Santa Clara County | 191 |
CA | Solano County | 62 |
CA | Sonoma County | 58 |
CA | Ventura County | 69 |
CO | Adams County | 99 |
CO | Arapahoe County | 225 |
CO | Denver County | 180 |
CO | El Paso County | 59 |
CO | Weld County | 57 |
CT | Fairfield County | 261 |
CT | Hartford County | 69 |
CT | New Haven County | 101 |
DC | District of Columbia | 101 |
DE | New Castle County | 57 |
DE | Sussex County | 129 |
FL | Brevard County | 53 |
FL | Broward County | 346 |
FL | Collier County | 224 |
FL | Duval County | 209 |
FL | Escambia County | 56 |
FL | Hillsborough County | 301 |
FL | Lee County | 428 |
FL | Manatee County | 107 |
FL | Martin County | 71 |
FL | Miami-Dade County | 602 |
FL | Monroe County | 65 |
FL | Orange County | 413 |
FL | Osceola County | 61 |
FL | Palm Beach County | 684 |
FL | Polk County | 109 |
FL | St. Lucie County | 56 |
GA | Chatham County | 75 |
GA | Cherokee County | 78 |
GA | Clayton County | 68 |
GA | Cobb County | 219 |
GA | DeKalb County | 341 |
GA | Fulton County | 88 |
GA | Gwinnett County | 355 |
GA | Hall County | 102 |
IA | Polk County | 72 |
IL | Cook County | 704 |
IL | DuPage County | 80 |
IL | Kane County | 144 |
IL | Lake County | 78 |
IN | Marion County | 369 |
KS | Wyandotte County | 110 |
KY | Fayette County | 71 |
KY | Jefferson County | 189 |
LA | East Baton Rouge Parish | 129 |
LA | Jefferson Parish | 213 |
LA | Orleans Parish | 88 |
MA | Bristol County | 75 |
MA | Essex County | 189 |
MA | Middlesex County | 203 |
MA | Suffolk County | 267 |
MA | Worcester County | 71 |
MD | Anne Arundel County | 88 |
MD | Baltimore County | 183 |
MD | Baltimore city | 199 |
MD | Montgomery County | 312 |
MD | Prince George's County | 474 |
MI | Kent County | 81 |
MI | Wayne County | 103 |
MN | Hennepin County | 163 |
MN | Ramsey County | 69 |
MO | Jackson County | 128 |
MO | St. Louis County | 56 |
NC | Durham County | 116 |
NC | Guilford County | 66 |
NC | Mecklenburg County | 419 |
NC | Wake County | 171 |
NC | Wayne County | 58 |
NE | Douglas County | 134 |
NJ | Bergen County | 93 |
NJ | Camden County | 90 |
NJ | Cumberland County | 50 |
NJ | Essex County | 296 |
NJ | Hudson County | 153 |
NJ | Mercer County | 201 |
NJ | Middlesex County | 112 |
NJ | Monmouth County | 84 |
NJ | Morris County | 87 |
NJ | Ocean County | 103 |
NJ | Passaic County | 124 |
NJ | Union County | 215 |
NV | Clark County | 194 |
NV | Washoe County | 51 |
NY | Bronx County | 324 |
NY | Kings County | 410 |
NY | Nassau County | 258 |
NY | New York County | 128 |
NY | Orange County | 92 |
NY | Queens County | 603 |
NY | Rockland County | 197 |
NY | Suffolk County | 436 |
NY | Westchester County | 210 |
OH | Butler County | 83 |
OH | Clark County | 50 |
OH | Cuyahoga County | 51 |
OH | Franklin County | 289 |
OH | Hamilton County | 229 |
OH | Montgomery County | 58 |
OK | Oklahoma County | 175 |
OK | Tulsa County | 189 |
OR | Marion County | 64 |
OR | Multnomah County | 69 |
OR | Washington County | 69 |
PA | Allegheny County | 61 |
PA | Chester County | 71 |
PA | Delaware County | 81 |
PA | Montgomery County | 83 |
PA | Philadelphia County | 258 |
RI | Providence County | 179 |
SC | Beaufort County | 60 |
SC | Berkeley County | 61 |
SC | Charleston County | 172 |
SC | Greenville County | 154 |
SC | Horry County | 92 |
SC | Lexington County | 62 |
SC | Richland County | 59 |
TN | Davidson County | 531 |
TN | Hamblen County | 63 |
TN | Hamilton County | 145 |
TN | Knox County | 128 |
TN | Rutherford County | 112 |
TN | Sevier County | 62 |
TN | Shelby County | 357 |
TX | Bexar County | 331 |
TX | Collin County | 121 |
TX | Dallas County | 1216 |
TX | Denton County | 194 |
TX | Harris County | 1874 |
TX | Hidalgo County | 80 |
TX | Jefferson County | 55 |
TX | Montgomery County | 103 |
TX | Tarrant County | 302 |
TX | Travis County | 645 |
TX | Williamson County | 69 |
UT | Salt Lake County | 185 |
VA | Alexandria city | 53 |
VA | Arlington County | 61 |
VA | Chesterfield County | 106 |
VA | Fairfax County | 353 |
VA | Loudoun County | 70 |
VA | Prince William County | 174 |
VA | Richmond city | 92 |
WA | King County | 230 |
WA | Snohomish County | 72 |
WI | Milwaukee County | 82 |