Stuck in Shelters for Months, Some Migrant Children Abandon Hopes of Staying in US

The federal Office of Refugee Resettlement is supposed to care for migrant children who arrive in the country alone. But new policies are stranding kids in shelters and undermining their mental health. Some children have chosen to return to the countries they fled.

By: Claudia Boyd-Barrett and Renuka Rayasam

Outlets: KFF Health News

Published: November 4, 2026

Words: 2,415

Last Updated: 5 days, 14 hours ago

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One morning this summer, a 9-year-old girl from El Salvador picked through colorful markers at a Houston-area shelter for migrant children and crafted a letter to her mom.

“I want to be with you already,” the little girl, M.R., wrote in misspelled, unpunctuated Spanish, adding hearts, a rainbow, and a large “I love you” surrounded by pink and blue dots. “I miss you a lot, mami I love you a lot mami I want to …

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