The Trump administration continues to place pregnant unaccompanied migrant minors in deep South Texas despite internal warnings, government records, and congressional pushback over a lack of specialized obstetric care in the region. An investigation by The Texas Newsroom and The California Newsroom has found that the practice endangers vulnerable youth who require immediate medical attention.
Directives from the Office of Refugee Resettlement and Internal Warnings
Government documents secured through public records requests show that the Office of Refugee Resettlement directed staff in July 2025 to transfer all pregnant youth to the Urban Strategies shelter in San Benito, near the Mexican border. Four days later, ORR issued a directive to begin placing “any pregnant children” at the Urban Strategies San Benito shelter in Cameron County. Internal communications demonstrate that officials within the agency’s own health division cautioned leadership against this decision. Joanna Gaines, who at the time was ORR’s acting health director, emailed Melissa Johnston, the agency’s head of operations, on July 18, 2025, to warn that Texas maintains some of the worst maternal mortality rates in the United States and that the Rio Grande Valley lacks adequate perinatal healthcare. She added that the state “lack[s] access to quality perinatal healthcare” and that the Rio Grande Valley’s Cameron County “has one of the higher rates of infant mortality in Texas.”
Despite these warnings, the policy went into effect. Agency records reveal that out of 21 pregnant girls placed in the region during the first ten months of the directive, four required out-of-state transfers for specialized medical care unavailable in Texas. These interventions included at least one abortion. Marsha Griffin, who oversaw medical students volunteering in ORR facilities in South Texas, noted that adolescent pregnancies, particularly among girls aged 10 to 14, carry inherent high risks that local facilities are ill-equipped to manage.
Shifting Shelter Locations and Congressional Inquiry
Following initial reporting on the shelter placement policy, 48 Democratic members of Congress sent a formal inquiry letter in April demanding transparency from the Department of Health and Human Services. In a September response, Alex J. Adams, an assistant secretary at HHS, asserted that ORR does not utilize a blanket rule or one-size-fits-all approach for expectant minors. However, internal agency logs tell a different story.
Rep. Judy Chu argued that the administrative relocation amounted to an effort to obscure the true scope of the policy from public and congressional oversight. While HHS maintained in recent statements that operational procedures regarding expectant youth remain unchanged, government data shows that the vast majority of apprehended unaccompanied minors are currently funneled into Texas detention facilities.
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