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Unaccompanied Children at the Southern U.S. Border

June 24 – August 5, 2014

At a glance

CDC activated its Emergency Operations Center to support a surge in unaccompanied children at the Southern U.S. border.

Officer providing a water bottle to child.

About the Response

During October 2013–June 2014, approximately 54,000 unaccompanied children, mostly from Central America, were identified attempting entry into the U.S. from Mexico.

Once identified in the U.S., U.S. Customs and Border Protection processed the unaccompanied children and transferred them to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).

ORR cares for the children in shelters until they can be released to a sponsor who can care for the child while their immigration case is processed.

In July 2014, CDC was informed of 16 different cases of unaccompanied children who were hospitalized with respiratory disease. ORR asked CDC to investigate the scope of the outbreak and implement measures to interrupt transmission.

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Content Source:
Office of Readiness and Response