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Nearly 50 Democratic members of Congress are demanding answers from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services over allegations that the federal government is sending pregnant, unaccompanied migrant girls to a single shelter in San Benito, Texas — a state where abortion is almost entirely banned.
In an April 30 letter led by San Antonio Congressman Joaquin Castro, lawmakers asked HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) Acting Director Angie Salazar to confirm whether ORR is placing all pregnant unaccompanied children in the care of the Urban Strategies San Benito facility.
The lawmakers said that, if true, the practice would appear to contradict ORR Field Guidance, which they said requires the agency to place pregnant minors in states where they can access “the full range of reproductive healthcare options.”
“We write to confirm your agency’s alleged practice of placing all pregnant unaccompanied children in the care of a single Office of Refugee Resettlement shelter in San Benito, Texas,” the letter states. “If so, this policy would contradict your agency’s Field Guidance #21.”
The concern follows reporting by The Texas Newsroom and The California Newsroom that, since July 2025, the Trump administration has directed pregnant unaccompanied minors apprehended by immigration authorities to the San Benito shelter. That reporting cited seven ORR sources who said the decision was made over objections from health and child welfare officials who believed the facility and surrounding region lacked adequate specialized care for high-risk pregnancies.
HHS has defended the placements. In a statement previously reported by public media, an HHS spokesperson said “ORR’s placement decisions are guided by child welfare best practices” and are designed to ensure children are housed in “the safest, most developmentally appropriate setting,” including for those who are pregnant or parenting.
But the congressional letter argues the San Benito shelter has a troubled record.
According to the letter Urban Strategies San Benito "has a documented history of inadequate care for pregnant children. Since July 2025, more than a dozen pregnant young girls, some as young as 13 years old, have been sent to the San Benito facility, which is operated by a for-profit contractor."
Lawmakers said ORR barred the facility in 2024 from receiving pregnant minors after staff allegedly failed to arrange timely medical appointments, failed to immediately share critical health information and discharged pregnant girls without arranging continued medical care. The letter says ORR later required a remediation plan, but lawmakers said it did not include adding staff or improving staff qualifications.
The letter also raises concerns about abortion access. “Deliberately placing them in a medically inadequate facility in a state that bans abortion over the objections of the agency’s own health officials is a political decision, not based on the welfare of children,” lawmakers wrote. They also warned that any effort to block interstate transfers for abortion care would conflict with ORR’s obligations under federal child-welfare and immigration law.
The Immigration Policy Tracking Project has reported that ORR’s July 2025 directive represented a change in practice, placing pregnant unaccompanied minors in San Benito despite existing regulations requiring transfer or transportation when necessary health care — including abortion care — is unavailable where a child is held.
Lawmakers asked HHS to provide the number of pregnant children currently in ORR custody, how many have been sent to San Benito, how many have given birth there, whether any have experienced miscarriages or serious complications, and whether any have been transferred out of Texas to access abortion care.
They also asked whether ORR is working to rescind or amend regulations requiring pregnant children seeking abortion to be transported or transferred to a state where abortion is legal.
The letter was signed by members of Congress including Castro, Jasmine Crockett, Veronica Escobar, Greg Casar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Pramila Jayapal, Ilhan Omar and others.
Castro has previously visited the facility and met with detained girls there. Castro said the facility was housing both pregnant teens, other girls in federal custody, teens who recently gave birth and their newborn infants.
“There are three pregnant girls there right now, and also three girls who have had children,” he said. “So, there were three infants there.” He added that the youngest child at the shelter was 5 years old and described seeing one baby asleep in a crib and another being held by “a mom that looked to be about 13 or 14 years old.”
Castro said the conditions and length of detention were especially troubling. “These are girls, some of whom have been sexually assaulted,” he said. “They’re away from their families, separated from their families.”
Castro also accused ORR officials of withholding key information during the visit, including how some girls ended up there and how many had experienced sexual assault.
