Picked up by immigration authorities, undocumented children who are apprehended without their parents are sent to shelters throughout the United States and educated while they wait out deportation proceedings. At one such shelter in Miami, new students appear almost as rapidly as others leave. The shelter is run by Catholic Charities of Miami under contract with the federal government. The children's stay at the school is short, an average of 25 days before being released to family in the United States, getting sent back to their countries, obtaining papers to stay in this country, turning 18, or in some other way having their status changed.