Rep. Salinas Leads 25 Members Requesting Immediate Response on Prolonged Detention of Unaccompanied Children

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Andrea Salinas (OR-06) led 25 Members of Congress in a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) Acting Director Angie Salazar, demanding an immediate response to a letter that was sent to them on June 4, 2026.

In their initial letter, the lawmakers requested a written response from both Kennedy and Salazar by June 15, 2026. They were provided with an 11-day notice. It has been 100 days since the deadline passed, and no response has been received by the Administration.

Click here or see below for the full letter.

Dear Secretary Kennedy and Acting Director Salazar:

On June 5, 2026, we sent a letter (see attached) via email to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to express our concerns and opposition to ORR's prolonged detention of unaccompanied children. As of September 23, 2026, we still have not received a response. Today, we are writing again to urgently request a response to the letter, including detailed answers to our questions.

As a reminder, we, as members of Congress, have a constitutional responsibility to provide oversight of federal agencies. We urge you to be transparent to Congress and the American people by providing a response to our letter by Wednesday, September 30, 2026.

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