A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The number of migrant children arriving in the U.S. has fallen dramatically as part of the Trump administration's crackdown on border crossings. That's led to the closure of a historic Catholic-run program for unaccompanied minors in South Florida. Here's David Ovalle.
DAVID OVALLE: Graciela Anrrich is at an interactive museum exhibit in Miami honoring Cuban Americans. On a large screen, she pulls up a familiar face.
GRACIELA ANRRICH: That was my picture when I came from Cuba. That's my sister, who came with me. She's also a Pedro Pan.
OVALLE: Operation Pedro Pan, or Peter Pan in English. It was a historic initiative that resettled more than 14,000 unaccompanied children fleeing Cuba in the 1960s. The federal government partnered with Catholic charities to care for the children in shelters and foster homes, sometimes for years, before they were reunited with family.
ANRRICH: Our parents put us on a plane, and a representative from Catholic charities took charge of us immediately. We were always protected.
OVALLE: Pedro Pan kicked off more than six decades of cooperation between the federal government and Catholic charities to care for unaccompanied migrant kids in Miami. Now the Trump administration has ended its contract with the charity. The shelter, known as the Children's Village, officially closes June 30. Dozens of staff members are losing their jobs, and a few remaining migrant kids have been moved to other facilities.
ANRRICH: I was horrified when I heard that that had happened.
OVALLE: In recent years, the program looked a lot different than in the 1960s. Instead of Cuba, many of the kids came from Central America, says Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski.
THOMAS WENSKI: We've had, unfortunately, cases of 12-year-old girls that were giving birth just as they came into the center. And that shows you the - you know, something about the trauma of their odyssey to come to the United States.
OVALLE: Children live there while they await resolution of their immigration claims or to be reunified with family living legally in the United States. It's a locked-down facility, but they get meals, schooling and psychological services.
WENSKI: There's a pretty nice playground. It's a dormitory-type situation. You know, it's not luxurious by any standards.
OVALLE: The decision by the Office of Refugee Resettlement to close the program was made before President Trump began feuding with Pope Leo over the Iran war last month. But Wenski worries about a future influx of migrant children.
WENSKI: The question we raise is, you know, why would you shut down your best program, and why would you do it in an area that's so close to the border? South Florida is a border state when you consider the Caribbean all around us.
OVALLE: And that includes Cuba, where tensions with the U.S. raise fears of an exodus. Emily Hilliard is a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It oversees the Office of Refugee Resettlement. She says the decision is part of broader efforts to close unused shelters across the country.
EMILY HILLIARD: The daily population of unaccompanied alien children in ORR care is significantly lower at 1,900 than the peak of 22,000 children during the Biden administration.
OVALLE: The closure has caused worry among some Cuban exiles who support Trump. They're also Catholic and proud of Pedro Pan's legacy. Their ranks include politicians and business leaders. As for Anrrich, she's now 78, a retired teacher. She is part of a Pedro Pan group that funded field trips and supplies for shelter kids.
ANRRICH: It's very sad because we felt so connected to these children.
OVALLE: She hopes if another crisis in Latin America brings unaccompanied minors to the U.S., the government will restart the Miami shelter because of its long, successful track record.
For NPR News, I'm David Ovalle in Miami.
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