20 immigrant children have arrived in N.J. in the last 30 days. Here’s what we know. – NJ.com

Twenty immigrant children have arrived in New Jersey within the past 30 days since the implementation of President Trump’s “zero tolerance policy,” including three who were separated from their parents at the border, according to a social services agency based in Camden.

A spokeswoman for Center for Family Services, Jen Hammill, said the other 17 children were unaccompanied minors, but she did not not provide their ages or the location of the shelters in South Jersey.

Overall, she said, the agency is currently housing a total of 27 children with the majority housed in one facility and the others in a separate location that includes parents and guardians. She added that over the past year the agency has housed a total of 90 children, the vast majority crossing the border as unaccompanied minors. 

“Family reunification is our primary goal,” Hammill said. “Center For Family Services takes steps to reunite children with their families and to develop a plan for a safe and healthy future for each child.”

In the past few weeks, thousands of children have been separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border and sent to facilities across the country. A national outcry has ensued over the past few days as media outlets have published photos of children being held in cage-like structures in facilities in Texas.

However, on Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order ending his administration’s controversial policy of separating immigrant children from their parents if they are caught illegally crossing the border.

The new order does not end Trump’s “zero-tolerance” policy on immigrants caught entering the U.S. illegally and raises a new set of questions about how the government will handle children and families in detention moving forward.

The policy could have a big impact on New Jersey, which has one of the largest immigrant populations in the country and continues to rank as one of the top destinations for immigrant children detained while crossing the border alone.