In the summer of 2014 record numbers of unaccompanied Central American minors — and thousands of others, arriving with family members — crossed the southern US border and gave themselves up to American immigration officers. Tens of thousands were detained — some were deported, and others released to family members or guardians. In early 2015, a team of 15 graduate and undergraduate journalists from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, in partnership with The GroundTruth Project, Global Post, and Fusion, embarked on a four-month investigation to determine what happened next. The special series, more than 15 text, audio and video reports, and documentary photography, ran in its entirety in Global Post, and as selected pieces on Fusion here and here.
![](https://annenberg.usc.edu/sites/default/files/styles/article_full_content_1240x600/public/Far_From_Home_Project_Photo_New.jpg?itok=XOMjnxZg)
Photo by Charlie Magovern
Far From Home
October 1, 2015
Updated November 1, 2015 2:44 p.m.