The number of unaccompanied children held in Texas shelters reached a new high this past month, according to a report by the Texas Tribune, and the Rio Grande Valley has the largest number of children by far.

There are 5,099 children living at privately run shelters for unaccompanied minors as of Sept. 20, and more than 3,300 of them are in the Brownsville area.

It’s a record high from August, when there were 4,936 children in Texas shelters.

This comes after the Trump administration ended its policy of separating immigrant children from their parents at the border.

“These are children that we’re talking about. These are innocent little kids who have come to the United States thinking that this is a wonderful country and that we have nothing but the best interest for them in mind,” said Michelle Serrano, with the Rio Grande Valley Equal Voice Network.

The shelters are divided into six areas across the state.

Including 203 children in 3 shelters in El Paso, 16 children in one shelter in Fort Worth, 398 children in six shelters in San Antonio, 1,027 children in nine shelters in Houston, 106 children in one shelter in Corpus Christi, and then 3,349 in ten shelters in the Brownsville area.

Including Southwest Key in Brownsville, one of the largest shelters in the country.

“It’s an egregious abuse of their rights and they deserve justice for that and that’s why we’re here to talk about those things,” Serrano said.

Four new facilities may be opening in Texas, three which will be located in South Texas, and one in Houston.

State licensed shelters can accommodate up to 5,489 children, which means the state is very close to maximum capacity.

Counts of children from the report are current as of September 2018, according to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.

