USA

Texas, the ‘deportation factory’ for unaccompanied foreign minors

The federal government is sending minors with ongoing legal proceedings to Texas and other conservative states, where facilities not authorised by the federal government operate and there is little chance of being assigned a court-appointed lawyer

by Andrea Pagani

19 September 2026

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2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

A strategic shift in the management of immigration in the United States, with a clear policy objective: to channel undocumented child migrants towards jurisdictions that are hostile to their reception.

The federal government is sending minors with ongoing legal proceedings to Texas and other conservative states, where facilities not authorised by the federal government operate and there is little chance of being assigned a court-appointed lawyer. This is according to a report in *The Guardian* on the situation facing hundreds of young refugees.

The situation

According to an analysis of immigration data from the platform bklg.org, almost 80 per cent of unaccompanied minors in federal custody and facing court proceedings across the country in July were referred to reception networks in Texas. This represents a significant increase compared with previous months, but the figure rose to 90 per cent in August. The transfers take place without any official public justification.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), the department responsible for unaccompanied minors, has a specific legal remit that focuses on the protection and welfare of minors, with the enforcement of deportation laws taking a back seat.

The same office is also responsible for organising the young people’s stay in the United States through a network covering the whole country. It is also required to facilitate the appointment of a lawyer for every child involved in immigration court proceedings. The aim is to protect them from abuse, human trafficking and exploitation.

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The Texas case

However, this function is being hampered in Texas. The Republican state government is refusing to issue licences to the federal refugee agency. Whilst this has not brought the work of the migrant resettlement office to a standstill, it has meant fewer safeguards and protections for young people.

According to a report by “Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project”, a non-profit organisation based in Arizona, the federal government’s aim appears to be to concentrate vulnerable individuals in jurisdictions with stricter legislation, with a view to subsequently deporting them from the country.

More than 1,800 children and young people across the country are in the department’s care, but it is believed that more than 60 per cent of those who still have a criminal record have been transferred to the Lone Star State. In June, the figure was less than half that.

As reported by *The Independent*, nationwide only 31.7 per cent of minors with an open immigration case have been assigned a legal representative to defend them. And the situation in Texas is even worse: 17.2 per cent of young people in Houston, 18.6 per cent in El Paso and just 8.7 per cent in San Antonio have been assigned a lawyer.

Meanwhile, the Orr has planned the construction of a facility with a capacity of nearly three thousand places. A building designed to enable the administration to respond swiftly to mass influxes. Although the number of unaccompanied minors who have crossed the border illegally has fallen dramatically over the past year and a half, NGOs remain concerned that the Trump administration is building a factory for mass deportations. A system that fails to protect vulnerable individuals and returns them to situations of danger and risk of falling victim to traffickers.