BRIAN WITTE
Associated Press

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland officials have met with members of the legal community to discuss how to help unaccompanied children from Central America who have crossed the border.

Ted Dallas, the secretary of the Maryland Department of Human Resources, said officials met Tuesday with about 20 to 30 people, including representatives of the American Civil Liberties Union and attorneys.

Dallas says they discussed how to streamline the legal process due to the volume of cases that will go through Maryland. Dallas also says they discussed how to help families that are hosting the children to get legal services they need.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says Maryland has about 2,205 of the unaccompanied children that have come across the border between Jan. 1 and July 7.

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