7-13-2018
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Detaining immigrant children has morphed into a surging industry in the U.S. that now brings in $1 billion annually — a tenfold increase over the past decade, an Associated Press analysis finds.
Health and Human Services grants for shelters, foster care and other child welfare services for detained unaccompanied and separated children soared from $74.5 million in 2007 to almost a billion dollars in 2017.
Currently, more than 11,800 children are housed in nearly ninety facilities in fifteen states, including Washington.