Letter from Hirono, colleagues demands halt immigration enforcement actions against keiki

U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, a Hawai’i Democrat, joined 10 of her fellow Senate colleagues in writing a letter to several members of President Donald Trump’s Administration urging them to halt immigration enforcement actions against minors and develop policies aimed at protecting them.

The letter was sent to:

• U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.
• Secretary of U.S. Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
• Secretary of U.S. Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy Jr.
• Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Todd Lyons.
• Director of the U.S. Justice Department Executive Office of Immigration Review Daren Margolin.

“Due to the Administration’s actions, immigrant children are being held in custody for substantially longer periods of time, including children never previously detained,” says the letter. “Children released from [Office of Refugee Resettlement and Unaccompanied Migrant Children] custody in January 2025 were held for an average of 37 days. In grave comparison, children released in August 2025 were held almost five times as long, for an average of 182 days.”

To make matters worse, the senators write, Trump’s Administration repeatedly seeks to terminate the 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement, setting minimum standards for the humane treatment of children in custody.

“It is unconscionable that this administration believes that children belong behind bars and should be stripped of protections that ensure access to food, water and other necessities while in detention,” their letter says.

The senators continued, highlighting that the Trump Administration is breaking records for the amount of children being deported.

“April 2025, more than 8,000 children age 11 or under received a removal order — the highest monthly number in over 35 years. And in the first 6 months of the Administration, nearly 15,000 children under the age of 4 were ordered deported,” writes the senators. “The vast majority of these children did not have legal representation.”

The Administration also launched an unprecedented attack on the sponsors and guardians of unaccompanied children during the past year, according to Hirono and her colleagues.

Enforcement operations targeting parents and caretakers of immigrant kids led to nearly 3,000 arrests.

The senators say instead of targeting violent criminals, the Administration appears to be using children as bait to easily locate and target family members and sponsors for deportation.

“The Administration’s actions paint a deeply troubling picture for the fate of immigrant children in our country,” the letter says. “[Department of Homeland Security] and [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] are intent on detaining and removing children from the country without regard for constitutional or statutory protections.”

Lawmakers also requested answers no later than Feb. 23 to the following questions:

• Under what circumstances does Department of Homeland Security transfer unaccompanied children into Office of Refugee Resettlement and Unaccompanied Migrant Children custody?
• How many children has U.S. Customs and Border Patrol transferred into Office of Refugee Resettlement and Unaccompanied Migrant Children custody since January 2025?
• How many children has Immigration and Customs Enforcement transferred into Office of Refugee Resettlement and Unaccompanied Migrant Children custody since January 2025?
• Of the children that Department of Homeland Security transferred into Office of Refugee Resettlement and Unaccompanied Migrant Children custody since January 2025, how many were separated from a parent or other family member?
• How many were removed from their sponsors because of the sponsor’s immigration status?
• How many people age 18 or younger has Office of Refugee Resettlement and Unaccompanied Migrant Children detained in immigration custody since January 2025?
• How many people age 18 or younger has the Administration arrested in the interior of the country and placed in Office of Refugee Resettlement and Unaccompanied Migrant Children custody since January 2025?

The letter also requests any internal guidance, policy or memorandum governing any changes in Office of Refugee Resettlement and Unaccompanied Migrant Children mission since January 2025.

The full text of the letter is available here.