The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is working diligently with its interagency partners to ensure that unaccompanied migrant children are unified with family members or other suitable sponsors in the U.S. as quickly and safely as possible.

Today, HHS announced that the 144 children in HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) care at the Emergency Intake Site (EIS) for Unaccompanied Children at the Pennsylvania International Academy (PIA) in Erie, Pennsylvania, will be transferred to ORR state-licensed facilities where beds are available or unified with an appropriate sponsor, usually a parent or relative, while their immigration cases proceed.

The PIA EIS was intended for use as a temporary measure. ORR will continue working with the transferred children to unify them with a sponsor.

HHS greatly appreciates the warm welcome and all the support shown by the community, Erie and state elected officials, the PIA staff, and the many faith-based and community organizations and individuals of the neighboring areas and those who provided care to the children.