Schools a haven for many [illegal alien] unaccompanied minors

After 14 years of separation from her parents and a harrowing journey across the U.S. border, Milsa Martinez finds solace in the northern Virginia high school where she's perfecting her English and learning civics and math.

For children and teens [illegally] crossing the border alone like Martinez did two years ago, America's schools are one of the few government institutions where they are guaranteed services, from science instruction to eye exams.

While their cases are being processed by immigration authorities, most of these minors are released to family members or sponsors who are told the children must be enrolled in school.

In school, they frequently require special resources like English language and mental health services that already are strained because of budget cuts ...

"They need to be fed. They need to be clothed. They need to be cared for and then taught," Carvalho said ...

H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program in Arlington, where Martinez attends school, allows students learning English to stay into their 20s. In the past two years, it has seen increased numbers of students who [illegally] crossed the border alone. Teacher Michael Coughlin said many work at night ... in at least one case, to pay back a relative who spent thousands of dollars to have them smuggled into the country.

Martinez, now 20, said she was 18 when her parents sent for her, after her grandmother died ...