The Office of Refugee Resettlement is funding home study, post-release services, legal support, education, medical care and other assistance for unaccompanied alien children living in the United States.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The Department of Health and Human Services is directing another $258 million toward services for unaccompanied alien children living in the United States, extending federal support for minors and young migrants who entered the country during the recent border crisis.
The new funding comes even as the Department of Homeland Security says the southwest border is “more secure than at any point in history”. The costs tied to the prior influx remain substantial, with the federal government continuing to provide housing, medical care, education, legal assistance and post-release support for unaccompanied alien children, commonly referred to as UAC.
Under federal law, the Office of Refugee Resettlement, a branch of HHS, is responsible for the care and placement of UAC. Government figures show the population is overwhelmingly male and older than 14. The minors and young migrants come primarily from Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, El Salvador and other countries. According to the government data, 32% are from Guatemala, 20% from Honduras, 20% from Mexico, 8% from El Salvador and 19% from other countries.
More than half a million unaccompanied alien children entered the United States during the Biden administration, creating long-term obligations for federal agencies and taxpayers after the migrants were transferred into government care and later released to sponsors across the country.
ORR’s latest grant announcement provides $258 million for home study and post-release services. The award follows a separate allocation of $500 million less than a year ago for what the agency described as “high-quality” residential services.
According to Judicial Watch, the earlier funding supported group homes, shelters and transitional foster care programs for UAC. Those services included care for teen mothers, children under 13, sibling groups, pregnant or parenting teens and children with individualized needs.
That grant also provided educational and clinical services, medical care, recreation, individual counseling and space for legal meetings. Recipients were required to offer private areas for attorney consultations and separate bedrooms for isolation or quarantine when children had communicable diseases.
“Ideally, there should be at least one isolation-capable bedroom, for every 25 children, equipped with a door that closes while allowing line-of-sight through a small window,” the prior grant document stated. The document identified illnesses including varicella and influenza among the conditions that could require isolation.
The newly announced $258 million grant is focused on support after unaccompanied alien children are released from federal custody. The funding will pay for services intended to help with family reunification challenges, trauma recovery and integration into U.S. communities.
“These services are to be provided in a manner that is sensitive to each unaccompanied alien child’s individual needs and in a way they can understand, regardless of spoken language, reading comprehension, or disability, to ensure meaningful access for all eligible children, including those with limited English proficiency,” the grant document states.
The services will include assistance for special populations, including UAC involved in the juvenile justice system, those considered at high risk of involvement, children with disabilities and those at risk of worker exploitation or labor trafficking.
The grant also allows taxpayer-funded legal services, English language classes, general education courses, tutoring, medical care, behavioral health care, gang prevention programs, family stabilization services, counseling and other support.
The latest grant includes new restrictions from the Trump administration. Recipients are barred from using the money for diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility activities, including DEI or DEIA-related research.
The grant also prohibits use of the funds for activities that discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin or other protected traits. It further blocks spending on efforts that promote what the administration describes as a “discriminatory equity ideology.”
Recipients are also barred from using the funds to support services or activities that “inculcate or promote gender ideology.”
The funding underscores the continuing cost of caring for unaccompanied alien children who entered the United States in recent years, even as border conditions have changed under the Trump administration. Federal support for this population has included residential services, post-release programs and legal assistance, including a separate program that provides free legal help to illegal alien minors.
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