Unaccompanied minors released to sponsor after almost a year of being illegally detained in a Virginia facility

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Today, after being unlawfully detained for almost a year in a Virginia facility, two immigrant children were finally released to the care of a sponsor following a federal lawsuit that the ACLU of Virginia filed against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) on their behalf.

The case is the newest version of the Trump administration’s “family separation” policy, in which the administration is isolating immigrant children for months or longer in detention-like settings – away from trusted adults, schools, and their communities – in open defiance of the law, which requires that unaccompanied minors who come to the U.S. be housed in the “least restrictive setting.” Typically, that is under the care of a relative or other known adult serving as a sponsor.

“Our clients have had an available and suitable sponsor since the very first day they entered ORR custody nearly a year ago,” said ACLU-VA Senior Immigrants’ Rights Attorney Sophia Gregg. “According to federal law and ORR’s own policies, unaccompanied minors must be held in the least restrictive setting. There’s no way to construe detention as the least restrictive setting when there’s a suitable sponsor available, and there’s simply no legal justification for denying their freedom for this long.”

“Jane P.” and “Mark P.” are young siblings who entered the U.S. in July 2025 after fleeing violence in their home country. Within days of their detention by ORR, a family friend, “Mary L.”, had agreed to sponsor them. But despite passing every element of ORR’s own vetting process, Mary spent almost a year petitioning ORR to release the siblings into her care until their release this week.

ORR has refused to disclose why it ignored its own procedures and the law, or why it chose to violate Jane and Mark’s rights by intentionally prolonging their detention – and the detention of countless other unaccompanied minors in its custody who have viable placements. In 2025, the average number of days that children were kept in ORR custody skyrocketed from a 2024 average of 30 days to 117, while Jane and Mark were in ORR custody for more than 300 days.

“During the Trump administration’s first term, ORR kept children in facilities for far too long and in direct violation of the law,” said ACLU-VA Executive Director Mary Bauer. “The agency is at it again, and although we’re relieved that our young clients were finally released today, until ORR follows the law, we will keep fighting for the safety and freedom of immigrant children.”