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The number of migrant children being held in federally contracted shelters has risen to 12,800 this month, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday evening. That number represents a more than fivefold increase since last May, setting a record, according to a report in The New York Times, which first reported the data. In May 2017, the number was 2,400, the Times said. The increase in the number of children held in government shelters has strained the facilities, which are now near 90 percent capacity, versus 30 percent a year ago. The government operates about 100 such facilities. The dramatic rise was caused by a reduction in the number of children being released to live with family members or other sponsors, according to the data reviewed by the Times, and not by an influx of children migrating into the country.

Number of migrant children in federal shelters hits record, as facilities near capacity

One 16-year-old from Guatemala said he wanted to “quitarme la vida,” or “take my life away,” as he waited to be released from a Chicago shelter for immigrant children. He was kept there for at least 584 days. A 17-year-old from Guinea went on a hunger strike, telling staff members he refused to eat until he saw evidence they were trying to find him a home. He was released nearly nine months after he entered a shelter. And a 10-month-old boy, forcibly separated from his father at the U.S.-Mexico border in March, was bitten repeatedly by an older child and later hospitalized after falling from a highchair. He was detained for five months.  ProPublica Illinois has obtained thousands of confidential records about the nine federally funded shelters in the Chicago area for immigrant youth operated by the nonprofit Heartland Human Care Services — some dating back years, others from as recently as last week.

As Months Pass in Chicago Shelters, Immigrant Children Contemplate Escape, Even Suicide | Alternet

Family Separation: Children who were separated from their parents under the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance immigration policy face lasting consequences even after they’re returned to their families. Jeremy Raff filmed the bittersweet reunion of one mother, Anita, and her 6-year-old son, who’s showing signs of trauma. Read their story, and watch the documentary here.

The Atlantic Daily: September 7, 2018 - The Atlantic