Four migrants flee Tucson shelter, yet another concern for immigration system

Four Honduran teenage boys are missing after they ran away from a federally funded shelter in Tucson this month, sparking concern among both conservative and liberal critics of the system for housing immigrant youths. Both sides say the program needs more oversight and transparency. Shelter officials immediately notified police, who have yet to find the teens, according to Tucson police spokesman Christopher Goins. “From what they told us about these juveniles, they were no danger to themselves or others,” Goins said, so they were not listed on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's Web page. As of this month, 5,900 unaccompanied immigrant youths were held at shelters nationwide, which are less restrictive than detention centers. The shelter system drew national attention last year after more than 68,500 mostly Central American children arrived without parents at the Texas border. There are more than 100 other facilities in a dozen states with 8,000 beds, most along the Southwest border...more