Officials in a south-central Kansas city have voted against supporting a group’s efforts to house unaccompanied children who’ve arrived in the U.S. illegally.

Newton spokeswoman Erin McDaniel says the City Commission voted 4-0 in a special meeting Friday against issuing a letter of support to EmberHope, a nonprofit faith-based agency that has applied for a federal grant to house immigrant children at its Youthville facility in Newton.

The group sought a letter of support from the city as part of its application process. But an EmberHope official says it’s unclear how the vote will affect the grant proposal, which didn’t require the letter.

In the last year more than 50,000 children have crossed the U.S. border, fleeing violence in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

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Associated Press information from: The Wichita Eagle