A new report says many children who live along California's international border with Mexico are poor, hungry, and lack health insurance. The report comes from the non-profit advocacy group Children Now . KPBS reporter Kenny Goldberg has more.
The report focuses on the 800,000 children who live near the international border in San Diego and Imperial counties.
Of the children from immigrant families, 22 percent in Imperial and 15 percent in San Diego County have no health insurance.
Corey Newhouse co-wrote the study. She says most uninsured kids are eligible for public programs.
Newhouse : There's just real fear, and reluctance, in a lot of people's care, of getting on any kind of public insurance, regardless of what their immigration status might be.
Newhouse says nearly every child in the border region lives with a working parent. Even so, more than one third of border children live in poverty.
Kenny Goldberg, KPBS News.
