51 Democrats press administration over fast-tracked cases of migrant children

Fifty-one members of Congress led by Rep. Andrea Salinas and Sen. Ron Wyden, both Oregon Democrats, are pressing the Trump administration to stop what they describe as fast-tracked deportations of unaccompanied migrant children, according to a press release from Salinas' office dated Oct. 16.

The bicameral letter is addressed to the attorney general and leaders of the immigration courts, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It asks the agencies to reverse course and answer 25 written questions by Oct. 30.

What the lawmakers allege

The letter argues that agencies are weakening protections children receive under a 2008 anti-trafficking law. Among the examples it cites:

• A federal contract for children's legal service providers ended July 31, leaving one provider handling a few dozen cases since early August.
• In Seattle, one judge heard 106 cases in a single day, with more than 30 children ordered removed in absentia.
• A Houston asylum office scheduled interviews on as little as 24 hours' notice, compared with a prior 21-day practice.
• The asylum grant rate for children fell from about 11% to about 1.5% between January 2025 and July 2026.

Questions posed

The questions seek directives on case scheduling and continuances, counts of large juvenile dockets, and monthly tallies of children removed without counsel or individual hearings.

The release did not include responses from the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security or other agencies named in the letter. The figures are the lawmakers' characterizations and have not been independently confirmed.