The Texas Newsroom and The California Newsroom reported that four pregnant girls were transferred from South Texas to other states for medical care as federal placements of pregnant minors in the region continued.
Records from the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) cited by the investigation show the transfers occurred between July 2025 and May 2026. The newsrooms reported that more than 20 pregnant girls were placed in South Texas over the same period, and at least one transfer followed a request for abortion care.
Joanna Gaines, ORR’s acting health director at the time, warned Melissa Johnston, the agency’s head of operations, in a July 18, 2025, email that Texas lacked quality perinatal care and that Cameron County had one of the state’s higher infant-mortality rates, the investigation reported. Four days later, ORR issued a directive naming the Urban Strategies shelter in San Benito as a placement site for pregnant children, according to records reviewed by the newsrooms.
Jen Smyers, who helped oversee ORR during the Biden administration, described the first transfer as a warning agency officials should have taken seriously.
Conflicting accounts emerged about later placements. Three ORR officials told the newsrooms that newly detained pregnant minors were being placed at a Los Fresnos shelter by the time U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro visited San Benito on April 7, 2026. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said there had been no operational change, disputing the reported shift.
A letter dated April 30 from Castro and other lawmakers sought information from HHS and ORR about placements, medical services, pregnancy outcomes and transfers for abortion care. The letter also said ORR had barred the San Benito facility from accepting pregnant minors in 2024 after care failures. In a September response, HHS Assistant Secretary Alex J. Adams said ORR makes placement decisions individually and does not use a blanket rule.
HHS has described Texas placements as efficient for agency operations. Advocates alleged that the placements could restrict abortion access, an accusation the department rejected.
A 2024 federal rule directs ORR to consider each child’s circumstances when making placements and to allow access to health care, taking reasonable steps to arrange requested services. HHS announced Jan. 23, 2026, that it had proposed revising the rule in connection with the Hyde Amendment. The proposal remains under review, and the government listing gives no publication date.
