San Diego has received hundreds of unaccompanied migrant children
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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Many unaccompanied migrant children are crossing the border into San Diego County, but most aren't staying in the city.
Why it matters: These kids are an especially vulnerable group, as federal, state and city leaders spar over sheltering and supporting foreigners who have entered the U.S. without permission. Some states have vowed to crack down hard on illegal immigration.
- Often, these children fleeing extreme poverty work to support their families back home and are exploited by full-time, dangerous jobs that violate labor laws.
By the numbers: More than 500 unaccompanied migrant children were placed with nonparent sponsors in San Diego between 2015 and 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Human Health and Services.
- Most came from Guatemala (61%) and Honduras (13%), followed by Mexico, Haiti and El Salvador.
- The data comes from migrant children sponsors' ZIP codes obtained by the New York Times.
State of play: Thousands of migrant kids traveling alone are entering San Diego each year — and the number is growing as migration patterns shift westward along the Southern border, per inewsource.
- A California federal judge in April ordered U.S. border officials to "expeditiously" process and relocate children from unsafe, overcrowded open-air sites in San Diego County, where they're often held for hours or days at a time.
Context: San Diego has been overwhelmed with immigrant traffic in recent months, becoming a top entry point for migrant arrivals this spring.
- Many are seeking asylum, and most don't stay in the county for more than a day.
Between the lines: While thousands of unaccompanied migrant children come through San Diego, most are sent to other cities and states to live with sponsors or family members.
- More than 7,000 were released to sponsors across California between October 2023 and this April, federal data shows. The state operates a program to provide child welfare, foster care and independent-living services.
Zoom out: Houston (about 32,000 kids), Los Angeles (about 12,700) and Dallas (about 8,500) received the largest shares of the 550,000-plus unaccompanied migrant children who arrived in U.S. cities from 2015 to 2023.
- With 525 of those kids, San Diego ranks 193rd among U.S. cities.
The intrigue: Most unaccompanied minors are now going to sponsors instead of their parents in the U.S. — a major shift from a decade ago, the New York Times reported.
What to watch: President Biden issued an executive order last week to dramatically limit asylum claims and to allow border officials to quickly turn back migrants.
- Since then, illegal crossings have not noticeably dropped along the county's border, but there's been an uptick in deportations, the Union-Tribune reported.
- The new protocol does not affect unaccompanied children, but advocates say it could cause more parents to risk separating from their children or sending them to the border alone.