In the midst of an ongoing family separation crisis, the Administration continues to push for flexibility to hold children indefinitely in ICE family detention facilities. Yet, as the New York Times reported this week, Administration policies are also leading to historic numbers of unaccompanied children being held in federal childcare shelters nationwide.

Data show a more than five-fold increase in the number of children in Office of Refugee Resettlement custody from last year. An increase from 2,400 in care in May 2017 to a total of 12,800 this month—despite generally steady arrival numbers at the border.

These numbers are staggering.

This soaring figure reflects the impact of Administration policies targeting unaccompanied children and their families. Among these is a recent information-sharing agreement between DHS and ORR that transforms ORR’s process for vetting the safety of individuals who sponsor children in government care into a tool for immigration enforcement.

Enforcement against the caregivers of migrant and refugee children, and the fear created by this policy, are exposing children to longer stays in federal custody and our government to significant and unnecessary costs.

Click here to share the petition and tell the Administration that we won’t stand for policies that target families and keep kids in custody.