More than 57,000 children have crossed the nation’s southern border unaccompanied since October.
Indiana has received 245 of these children, according to Indiana Public Media. They were sent to sponsors, who are normally relatives or family friends.
The sponsor is responsible for making sure the child goes to immigration proceedings and reports to officials if a judge orders a removal issue.
When contacted, the Indiana branch of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services had not heard of this news.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence sent a letter to President Barack Obama this past week asking for more information about the specifics of these immigrants.
“The best way to stop this humanitarian crisis is to reunite the children who have come to America with their families in their home countries. Doing so will deter more children from making the dangerous journey to the United States,” Pence said in a press release.
He also notes that these children have entered Indiana since January, yet the state government only knew of them after media reports this past week.
“I have been informed that HHS will only provide monthly updated numbers of unaccompanied children placed in states during the first week of each month. This is unacceptable,” he wrote in the letter.
Many of the children were fleeing from the violence in their home countries, according to Indiana Public Media.
Children who have not been distributed to various states around the country are still being kept in holding cells in southern border states, according to Bloomberg Business Week.
There are waits on immigration cases as high as 587 days, or almost a year and a half, because of the influx in unaccompanied immigrant children.
Sarah Zinn