Unaccompanied Alien Children Released to Sponsors by State

Current as of:

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 alien 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 alien 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 alien 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 data in the table below shows state-by-state data of unaccompanied alien children released to sponsors as of February 28, 2025. ACF will update this data each month. Additional data on unaccompanied alien children released to sponsors by state is available on the HHS website .

View unaccompanied alien children released to sponsors by county.

Please note: ORR makes considerable effort to provide precise and timely data to the public, but adjustments occasionally occur following review and reconciliation.  The FY2014 release data posted in the chart below were updated on March 13, 2015.  The FY2015 release data were updated May 9, 2016.  The FY2017 release data were updated May 22, 2018. The FY2018 release data were updated December 3, 2019. Questions may be addressed to ORR directly, at (202) 401-9246.
 

Unaccompanied Alien Children Release Data

StateTotal Number of UC Released to Sponsors in FY15 (Oct. 2014 — Sep. 2015)Total Number of UC Released to Sponsors in FY16 
(Oct. 2015 — Sep. 2016)
Total Number of UC Released to Sponsors in FY17
(Oct. 2016 — Sep. 2017)
Total Number of UC Released to Sponsors in FY18
(Oct. 2017 — Sep. 2018)
Total Number of UC Released to Sponsors in FY19
(Oct. 2018 — Sep. 2019)
Total Number of UC Released to Sponsors in FY20
(Oct. 2019 — Sep. 2020)
Total Number of UC Released to Sponsors in FY21
(Oct. 2020 — Sep. 2021)
Total Number of UC Released to Sponsors in FY22
(Oct. 2021 — Sep. 2022)
Total Number of UC Released to Sponsors in FY23
(Oct. 2022 — Sep. 2023)
Total Number of UC Released to Sponsors in FY24
(Oct. 2023 — Sep. 2024)
Total Number of UC Released to Sponsors in FY25
(Oct. 2024 — Feb 2025)
Alabama8088705987361,1112471944237820661675430
Alaska253 4 466104
Arizona1673303222584931626317828611229294
Arkansas18630927219335987789926910872164
California3,6297,3816,2684,6758,4472225107701373011121108192828
Colorado2484273793137141721088142416161746407
Connecticut2064544123329592601448130212301093187
Delaware15227517822238310751957352945699
DC2014322941383224830742134222361
Florida2,9085,2814,0594,1317,408152311143131951054294871867
Georgia1,0411,7351,3501,2612,5585594354523350654115929
Hawaii24411662322542610
Idaho1139112862198312516721869
Illinois3125194624758632111712293032712715629
Indiana2403543663947942091593186718181931422
Iowa201352277238489119677820761722161
Kansas24532628930545395719807755712189
Kentucky2745033643707101581042124213071278252
Louisiana4809731,0439311,9663552849342025691687384
Maine4911222611649612411226
Maryland1,7943,8712,9571,7234,6718255468606249503652907
Massachusetts7381,5411,0778141,7564482549270022542366487
Michigan13222716013624874450673756749173
Minnesota2433183202946241511000107111731102250
Mississippi207300237299482108707745665511136
Missouri1702612342034319379410081017969249
Montana2023 22838596316
Nebraska293486355374563130890919795718187
Nevada13728322913232479464616555638140
New Hampshire142527202586761  646611
New Jersey1,4622,6372,2681,8774,2369215907664853634348964
New Mexico19654643893411614118723372
New York2,6304,9853,9382,8456,367166385328543847769561512
North Carolina8441,4931,2901,1002,52261042464888  47664064960
North Dakota21032101141922509
Ohio4836935845471,0912601674199319842068458
Oklahoma2253012672865811209061062931912205
Oregon12218817020031871438562602737163
Pennsylvania3336045015631,2292712100251822901985422
PR   133 3462
Rhode Island1852692342354539251960955937794
South Carolina2945624835081,01225517432251  22252143416
South Dakota618181961494423327224018931
Tennessee7651,3541,0661,1732,1915104265482145683500810
Texas3,2726,5505,3914,1369,9002336153381907116394130713279
Utah62126999717975306491556736193
Vermont1102618416178
Virginia1,6943,7282,8881,6504,2157705400621348333631901
Washington2834764944357232371112130113501460402
West Virginia122623234146089506715
Wisconsin3885949824662531721640820179
Wyoming62314151562234354811
VI  3    113430
TOTAL27,84052,14742,49734,95372,83716,837107,646127,447113,49599,38123,074