NY1 has learned New York refugee resettlement groups in the city are preparing to ramp up to capacity to accommodate an expected surge in the number of unaccompanied minors sent here from the Mexican border.

The Department of Homeland Security directed FEMA this past weekend to help with the jump in unaccompanied minors seeking asylum at the border.

What You Need To Know

  • NY1 has learned New York refugee resettlement groups in the city are preparing to ramp up to capacity to accommodate an expected surge in the number of unaccompanied minors sent here from the Mexican border

  • Catholic Charities says capacity in the area generally means more than a thousand kids, and non-profit organizations can handle that

  • Sources tell NY1 four non-profits are processing the children, vetting their contacts or arranging foster care
  • The Department of Homeland Security directed FEMA this past weekend to help with the jump in unaccompanied minors seeking asylum at the border

Lawyers representing some of the children say many are between the ages of 7 and 17, but they’re as young as 6 months old. Separately, Catholic Charities Community Services, which also represents hundreds of these children, says the numbers have been on the rise since December.

“It's true that we're seeing somewhere in the hundreds and that we should expect to be at full capacity, given reports of increased numbers of minors arriving to the country,” said Anthony Enriquez, the director of the Unaccompanied Minors Program at Catholic Charities Community Services.

NY1 is told the children come to the border fleeing violence, natural disasters like the hurricanes in Central America last year and the deterioration of society due to COVID-19.

The reason they’re coming to New York often is many told immigration authorities at the border they have family or friends here in the city. 

Sources tell NY1 four non-profits are processing the children, vetting their contacts or arranging foster care.   

They are Lutheran Social Services, Cayuga Centers, Children’s Village and Catholic Guardian.

Catholic Charities says capacity in the area generally means more than a thousand kids, and non-profit organizations can handle that.

“We are seeing increased numbers right now, but this is partly a function of the fact that the Trump administration had a policy of summarily deporting young people without giving them access to a lawyer. That policy was challenged in federal court and declared illegal in November, and then shortly after that the Biden administration rescinded that policy,” said Enriquez.

You may remember back in 2018, the Trump administration was separating parents from children at the border and New York saw a spike in unaccompanied children. At this point, lawyers say they’re seeing no evidence of that.

Catholic Charities says 90% of the unaccompanied minors who have legal representation win their asylum cases eventually.