Unaccompanied Ukrainian minors began arriving at the US border two weeks ago, source says

The bombings facing Ukrainians unable to evacuate 4:42 (CNN) — In the past two weeks, unaccompanied Ukrainian minors, mostly teenagers, have entered the United States through the southern border after leaving their war-torn country. the war, according to a source familiar with the shelter from the US Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). Most of the minors flew to Mexico and then headed to the southern US border, according to the source. In some cases, this source says, relatives living in the US have met Ukrainian minors in Mexico, and US immigration authorities have separated the children from their relatives at the border, according to the government policy. Under US law, if the relative with the minor is not the minor’s parent or legal guardian, the minor is classified as unaccompanied. How many are in US care? An HHS spokesperson did not respond to questions from CNN about how many Ukrainian children are in US care and where they are. While in US government care, unaccompanied children meet with a case manager at least once a week and connect with family at least twice a week, according to HHS. This source says that in the last two weeks, between 20 and 30 unaccompanied Ukrainian minors have entered the US through the southern border. According to the source, based on the available data, it is difficult to count a total count at any given time. According to the latest data, as of April 14, 2022, nearly 10,000 children are in HHS custody. In fiscal year 2021, the majority of unaccompanied migrant children in HHS care came from the countries of the northern triangle of Central America made up of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. US Customs and Border Protection sent CNN an email saying the agency is unable to provide comment at this time. Where are the minors? The same source says that most of the Ukrainian children are being placed in ORR shelters in Washington, California and New York states. Several unaccompanied Ukrainian minors have been reunited with their families in the United States since the first child arrived about two weeks ago, the source said. Some of the children have said they are in the US to wait out the war and hope to return to their home country once it is no longer at war, this source said.