ICYMI: Rep. Salinas Joins KIND Press Call on Treatment of Unaccompanied Children

October 1, 2026 Press Release Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Congresswoman Andrea Salinas (OR-06) joined Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) for a virtual press conference on the Trump Administration’s efforts to fast-track the removal of unaccompanied children. Rep. Salinas raised concerns about children being held in prolonged detention, rushed through immigration court proceedings, and forced to navigate complex legal cases without adequate access to an attorney. Salinas also highlighted her work in Congress to demand answers from federal agencies about prolonged detention, access to counsel, and policies that keep children separated from safe family members. Listen to a recording of the full press conference HERE and read Rep. Salinas’ full remarks below. Good morning. I’m Congresswoman Andrea Salinas, and I proudly represent Oregon’s Sixth Congressional District. Thank you to KIND for your work in standing up for children and for hosting today’s event. Whether it is using prolonged detention as a tool to wear children down until they give up and self-deport, or rushing through court cases before a child can find a lawyer, the Administration is robbing these children of their due process and, in many cases, robbing them of their safety from serious harm. These are children who have fled abuse, trafficking, or persecution in their home country. And instead of finding safety in the United States, a country that once proclaimed, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” they are being denied basic protections that could save their lives. Trump is using every tool he has, no matter how cruel, to meet his arbitrary deportation quotas, and children are paying the price. We owe them a fair chance to be heard and a safe place to stay while their cases are decided. The Office of Refugee Resettlement, or ORR, is ground zero for Trump’s abuse. Congress gave ORR a clear mission: care for unaccompanied children and place them promptly with parents or other safe, vetted sponsors. Yet as of March 2026, children were spending an average of more than 200 days in ORR custody. That is more than six months when the standard under federal rules is twenty days. My colleagues and I have raised concerns to the Administration about children remaining in custody even when a parent or another prospective sponsor has been vetted. We have demanded answers about ORR sharing information with ICE that can lead to the arrest of a parent or family member trying to reunite with a child. Just imagine the fear that creates for other relatives who might otherwise come forward. Months of uncertainty in custody take their toll. Children can lose hope of seeing their families again. Prolonged detention can worsen anxiety and depression. It can also make it harder for a child to tell an attorney or a judge about the abuse or persecution they fled. And when a child sees no way out of detention, “voluntary departure” may no longer feel like a real choice. At the same time, the immigration courts are intentionally speeding up children’s cases while access to legal help has been disrupted. Just this week, CNN reported on a story from Texas where twenty-five children, some as young as three years old, appeared before an immigration judge. Fifteen of those children did not have an attorney, and even if they did, most 3-year-olds only have a vocabulary of no more than 500 words. I’ve heard stories of children who are given only a week or two to find a lawyer, and of a child told to prepare and file an asylum application alone. To make the situation worse, earlier this year, the Trump Administration allowed its contract with the Acacia Center for Justice (uh-KAY-shuh) to expire. I recently spoke with the Immigration Counseling Service, or ICS, who is a subgrantee of Acacia’s contract with ORR. Since 2008, ICS has served as Oregon’s sole legal services provider for unaccompanied children. ICS told me that because the Trump Administration canceled longstanding contracts with immigration attorneys who represent unaccompanied children, organizations like theirs have lost a significant source of funding. The Administration is starving advocates and attorneys of resources. This loss of funding threatens the survival of both ICS and the unaccompanied children they represent. Instead of continuing to work with longstanding legal partners, the Administration has signed a bridge contract with a new nonprofit who doesn’t have the capacity to represent all unaccompanied children, resulting in many children showing up to court without a lawyer. In other cases, lawyers haven’t spoken up as children faced the court. A child cannot be expected to navigate a life-changing legal proceeding alone, especially while separated from family and living in prolonged detention. A fair hearing takes time. It takes language access with a vocabulary of more than 500 words, expertise from immigration lawyers who have the skills to work with unaccompanied children, and it takes a meaningful opportunity to get legal help and present evidence. That is why I led 46 House colleagues in a letter demanding answers from ORR about prolonged detention, sponsor placements, children’s mental health, and its coordination with immigration enforcement. The Administration may not want to provide these answers. It does not want the American public to fully understand the grave harms to children its policies are causing, but I’m going to make sure the public knows what this Administration is doing to children. I am also going to continue to press the Justice Department and immigration officials for answers about accelerated hearings, access to counsel, and the removal of children without a meaningful chance to present their cases. ORR must return to its child welfare mission: vet sponsors thoroughly, make timely decisions, and release children to safe parents and loved ones without unnecessary delay. Immigration courts must give children a fair chance to obtain counsel and be heard. And we need federal agencies to answer for policies that keep families apart and put children at risk. The United States should be a place where a child fleeing harm can seek safety and receive a fair hearing. I ask President Trump and this administration—where is your humanity? Show us the human side of your actions. That is the standard I will keep fighting for. Thank you. ### Issues : Immigration