Where Are They Now? The Top States Where Border Kids Are Released

Since October, over 57,000 unaccompanied children have crossed the border into the United States, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The children claim asylum after they are detained by government officials. After a sponsor in the United States claims responsibility for a child, they earn their release with court summons to an immigration court to determine whether they qualify for asylum. 

According to a Reuters report, a case takes three to five years to clear the system as immigration courts have a backlog of 375,373 cases. 

So where are these released children awaiting their court date? According to the HHS Administration for Children and Families, over 30,000 children have been released in the following states (and the District of Columbia) from January 1 – July 7 in 2014.

1	TEXAS	4,280
2	NEW YORK	3,347
3	FLORIDA	3,181
4	CALIFORNIA	3,150
5	VIRGINIA	2,234
6	MARYLAND	2,205
7	NEW JERSEY	1,504
8	NORTH CAROLINA	1,191
9	GEORGIA	1,154
10	LOUISIANA	1,071
11	MASSACHUSETTS	773
12	TENNESSEE	760
13	ALABAMA	407
14	PENNSYLVANIA	386
15	OHIO	360
16	SOUTH CAROLINA	350
17	CONNECTICUT	325
18	ILLINOIS	305
19	INDIANA	245
20	KENTUCKY	237
21	COLORADO	221
22	OKLAHOMA	212
23	WASHINGTON	211
24	NEBRASKA	192
25	DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA	187
26	ARIZONA	186
27	KANSAS	179
28	MISSISSIPPI	179
29	MINNESOTA	173
30	ARKANSAS	166
31	IOWA	122
32	NEVADA	122
33	MISSOURI	121
34	RHODE ISLAND	119
35	DELAWARE	117
36	MICHIGAN	92
37	UTAH	67
38	OREGON	50
39	WISCONSIN	50
40	SOUTH DAKOTA	21
41	NEW MEXICO	18
42	NEW HAMPSHIRE	13
43	WEST VIRGINIA	10
44	HAWAII	8
45	IDAHO	8
46	MAINE	8
47	WYOMING	6
48	ALASKA	5
49	NORTH DAKOTA	4
50	VIRGIN ISLANDS	4
51	VERMONT	3
52	MONTANA	1