Montgomery County is experiencing an influx of unaccompanied immigrant children who were apprehended at the U.S. border and are coming here to live temporarily with relatives while their cases are considered by immigration courts.
Dana Tofig, a Montgomery County Public Schools spokesperson, said Monday morning that about 100 unaccompanied minors attended Montgomery County public schools during the past school year. “We’re certainly preparing for more,” he said.
County officials Tuesday will brief the county council on how many unaccompanied minors are living here, how many more are expected and what the county is doing to address their needs.
Bruce Adams, the county’s director of the Office of Community Partnerships, will be among those briefing the council. “Because we have so many families here from El Salvador, as well as Honduras and Guatemala, significant numbers of kids have no doubt come here,”Adams said. “The county is trying to make sure we are ready.”
Also briefing the council will be Chrisandra Richardson, MCPS associate superintendent of the Office of Special Education and Student Services; and Uma Ahluwalia, director of the county’s Department of Health and Human Services.
The federal government is forecasting that more than 60,000 unaccompanied minors will cross the border this fiscal year.
Council member Nancy Navarro requested the briefing. In a letter to Council President Craig Rice she wrote, “The United States is experiencing a surge of unaccompanied children crossing the border, fleeing the violence of their home countries in South and Central America. According to a recent report by National Public Radio, federal immigration officials have detained 50,000 of these children since October. Many of these children are making their way to the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Area, where they hope to reunite with relatives. The influx of these unaccompanied children is creating a humanitarian crisis in local jurisdictions throughout the nation. Many children require medical attention, are victims of sexual abuse, have experienced severe trauma (both in their home country and during their journey across the border), and have never received a formal education.”
The briefing will take place Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. at the Council hearing room in Rockville. The briefing will also be streamed online.
