The Trump administration is detaining pregnant unaccompanied migrant children in a part of Texas where a lack of specialized obstetric care can be life-threatening, an investigation by The California Newsroom and The Texas Newsroom has found. The practice continues despite concern from current and former officials, and records show at least four girls have had to be transferred to other states for medical care since July 2025.
The investigation found that the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) explicitly directed its staff in July 2025 to send all pregnant youth to a shelter in San Benito, Texas. By the time of a Congressional visit in April 2026, the agency had begun sending newly detained pregnant girls to a different shelter nearby in Los Fresnos. An HHS spokesperson denied there had been any operational changes, writing only that "there have been no operational changes regarding the placement of pregnant unaccompanied children."
Under the Trump administration, the share of unaccompanied children placed in Texas has risen, with 95% of the roughly 300 children apprehended in September detained in the state, up from 45% in June. A pediatrician said the southern region of Texas where the girls are held does not have enough specialized obstetricians. ORR’s acting health director warned that Texas had one of the worst rates of maternal mortality in the country and that Cameron County had one of the higher rates of infant mortality in Texas.
The administration has publicly denied it has a blanket policy of sending pregnant girls to South Texas. Assistant Secretary Alex J. Adams wrote to Congress that placement decisions are individualised and not based on a "one-size-fits-all approach." An unsigned HHS email in September described placing children in Texas as "operationally efficient." However, internal ORR emails obtained by the newsrooms show that the agency's own acting health director, Joanna Gaines, warned leadership on July 18, 2025, that the state "lack[s] access to quality perinatal healthcare." Four days later, ORR issued a directive to begin placing pregnant children in Cameron County.
Records show that four of the more than 20 pregnant girls placed in the region had to be transferred to other states for medical care. This included a 12-year-old sent to New York for access to specialists whose availability in South Texas is "extremely limited," and a girl transferred to California for a high-risk medical need. At least one girl was transferred after requesting an abortion, a procedure that is virtually banned in Texas.
Democratic members of Congress have criticised the policy. Rep. Joaquin Castro, who visited the San Benito shelter in April, called the administration's response to his inquiry "irresponsible." Rep. Judy Chu said the administration was putting children in danger. "If there is a 13-year-old girl who has survived rape, she should be met with compassion, safety and appropriate medical care," Chu said. "Instead, this administration is placing children like her in a state where they will be deprived of access to basic healthcare. It's dangerous, and it's cruel." Chu noted that a change in control of the House after the November election would bring greater oversight to the policy.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The health and safety of highly vulnerable pregnant children are directly jeopardised by placement far from adequate medical care.
- Internal government records contradict public statements, raising serious questions about transparency and accountability within ORR.
- The policy restricts access to abortion for minors in federal custody, intersecting with the broader national debate on reproductive rights.
Background
The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) is the federal agency responsible for caring for unaccompanied migrant children apprehended without a parent or guardian. An earlier joint investigation by the same newsrooms in spring 2026 first revealed the administration's policy of sending pregnant minors to a single shelter near the Mexico border. The records and interviews in the current investigation show the practice has continued, with the location of the shelter shifting after a Congressional visit, despite denials from the agency.
Key Perspectives
The Trump Administration (HHS/ORR): Denies a formal policy of sending pregnant youth to a single location, stating placements are based on individual health and safety needs and that its Texas facilities provide all necessary care. (Source: HHS unsigned email, letter from Assistant Secretary Alex J. Adams.)
Democratic Members of Congress (Castro, Chu, Cisneros): Argue the administration is running a dangerous, informal policy of hiding vulnerable children in a region without proper medical care and knowingly misleading Congress and the public about it. (Source: Castro and Chu interviews with the newsrooms.)
Former ORR Officials and Health Experts: Warned internally and publicly that detaining pregnant adolescents in South Texas is medically irresponsible, given the region's lack of specialised obstetric care and adolescent pregnancy's inherent high risks. (Source: Interviews and internal emails from Jen Smyers, Joanna Gaines, Marsha Griffin, and Tracey Wilkinson.)
What to Watch
- The outcome of the November congressional election, which Rep. Chu says will determine whether Democrats can intensify oversight of the policy.
- Whether the Trump administration follows through on its January announcement to rescind the federal rule requiring the transfer of detained minors who request abortions.
- Further records releases or whistleblower accounts that could detail the full medical and psychological impact of the policy on the children affected.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 10 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedJudy Chu said: “If there is a 13-year-old girl who has survived rape, she should be met with compassion, safety and appropriate medical care. Instead, this administration is placing children like her in a state where they will be deprived of access to basic healthcare. It's dangerous, and it's cruel.”LAist: ““If there is a 13-year-old girl who has survived rape,” she said, “she should be met with compassion, safety and appropriate medical care. Instead, this administration is placing children like her in a state where they will be deprived of access to basic healthcare. It's dangerous, and it's cruel, and there's no excuse for treating children this way.””
- SupportedJoanna Gaines warned that Texas “lack[s] access to quality perinatal healthcare.”LAist: “Gaines added that the state “lack[s] access to quality perinatal healthcare””
- SupportedAn HHS spokesperson said, “there have been no operational changes regarding the placement of pregnant unaccompanied children.”LAist: “writing only that “there have been no operational changes regarding the placement of pregnant unaccompanied children.””
- SupportedAlex J. Adams told Congress that placement decisions are individualized and not based on a “one-size-fits-all approach.”LAist: “Alex J. Adams, who wrote that ORR “does not make placement decisions for pregnant youth based on a blanket rule or one-size-fits-all approach””
- SupportedThe investigation found pregnant migrant youth are still being sent to a Texas region where a lack of specialized obstetric care can be life-threatening, despite health warnings.LAist: “The Trump administration is still detaining pregnant migrant youth in a region of Texas where a lack of specialized obstetric care can be life-threatening for them, an investigation by The California Newsroom and The Texas Newsroom has found.”
- SupportedRecords show at least four pregnant girls in detention were transferred out of state for specialized medical care since July 2025.LAist: “Government records also show that at least four pregnant girls in detention have had to be transferred out of state since last July to receive specialized medical care”
- SupportedIn July 2025, ORR directed staff to send all pregnant youth to a shelter in San Benito, Texas.LAist: “The documents, which were obtained through a public records request, show that ORR explicitly directed its staff in July 2025 to send all pregnant youth to the shelter in San Benito, Tex.”
- SupportedBy the April 2026 congressional visit, ORR was sending newly detained pregnant girls to a different nearby shelter in Los Fresnos.LAist: “By the time of his visit on April 7, internal agency data showed that ORR had stopped placing newly detained children with known pregnancies at the facility... Instead, the agency was sending them to a different shelter, in Los Fresnos”
- SupportedIn September, 95% of roughly 300 children apprehended were placed in Texas, up from 45% in June.LAist: “95% of the roughly 300 children apprehended by immigration officials in September were placed in detention in Texas, up from 45% in June.”
- Partly supportedA pediatrician said South Texas does not have enough specialized obstetricians.LAist: “Marsha Griffin, a retired professor of pediatrics at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine, said such outcomes were inevitable. Griffin said the shelters have very few medical staff on hand and the region does not have enough specialized obstetricians.”
- Partly supportedRecords show that four of the more than 20 pregnant girls placed in the region had to be transferred to other states for medical care.LAist: “The records show that between July of 2025, when ORR began placing pregnant girls in South Texas, and May of 2026, four of them had to be transferred to other states to receive medical care. That’s roughly one in five of the more than 20 pregnant girls the agency placed in the region in that time frame”
- SupportedAt least one girl was transferred out of Texas after requesting an abortion, and abortion is virtually banned in Texas.LAist: “In at least one case, a girl was transferred out of Texas because she had requested an abortion, the records show.”