Last July, Oregon's Democratic members of Congress and Gov. Kate Brown were denied permission to tour a Portland facility that houses 70 immigrant children on behalf of the federal government. The group of officials promised the public they'd fight to gain access to the building to guarantee the health and safety of the children inside.

Now, nearly a year later, the Oregon officials still haven't visited the downtown Portland facility, which continues to house dozens of undocumented immigrant children.

At the time of their request, the elected officials—Brown, US Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, and US Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Earl Blumenauer and Kurt Schrader—were on high alert after anecdotal evidence from the US-Mexico border proved that Donald Trump was delivering on his long-promised crackdown on immigrant families seeking asylum.

Just a month earlier, a video of Merkley being turned away from a large mass detention facility for kids in Brownsville, TX had gone viral, spurring outrage from fellow Democrats and immigrant advocates across the country. That same week, Merkley was allowed inside a similar center in McAllen, TX, where he described seeing kids in cages sleeping on concrete under mylar blankets.

After hearing that unaccompanied immigrant children were being held in their own state, Oregon Democrats requested a visit.

While the local organization running the facility, Morrison Child and Family Services (MCFS), was willing to welcome the Oregon officials, the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) axed the request. And, since
MCFS is contracted by ORR to house immigrant kids, ORR had the final say.

According to ORR, the lawmakers needed to apply for a tour online, a process that could take several weeks to finalize.

“This is a Trump Administration strategy to prevent members of Congress from being able to enter these facilities and check on the condition of the children," said Merkley in a media statement at the time. "This is unacceptable."

"This approach makes a mockery of the checks and balances envisioned in our constitution," said Bonamici, in her own press statement.

Merkley spokesperson Sarah Hottman says that, as of this week, none of the five Oregon members of Congress have been given access to the facility since their initial request. Since Merkley's office has led the Oregon charge on upholding immigrant rights, Hottman says those five other Oregon officials have differed to his office on this issue.

"Sen. Merkley met with the director in D.C. after ORR denied their request and plans to visit in the near future," Hottman told the Mercury in an email.

It's not clear if any other Oregon officials have attempted to visit the facility in the past year. If so, they certainly haven't made those attempts as public as their July 2018 demand.

Kate Kondayen, a spokesperson for Gov. Brown, says Brown did not personally tour the facility, but staff with the Department of Human Services were able to visit.

Patricia DiNucci, a spokesperson for MCFS, said she's received inquiries from members of Congress to tour the facility just this week.

The recent influx of requests inspired Henrie-McWilliams to invite 35 elected officials on individual tours of the facility. Like with the members of Congress, DiNucci says these officials still have to gain approval for a tour through the ORR website before showing up.

The MCFS facility can house up to 86 immigrant kids between the ages of 13 to 17. Despite a perceived influx of children crossing the Mexican border, DiNucci says the center is currently under capacity.

According to Hottman, the center is not holding any children who've been separated from their families at the border. That means these children arrived at the border entirely alone, or with someone they aren't related to (a family friend or smuggler).

In an interview with the Lund Report last July, MCFS CEO Drew Henrie-McWilliams explained why many of these kids are entering the US solo this way: "They are typically escaping violence or threats of violence in their home country. Some have been threatened or physically hurt by gangs in their home country. Some have been forced into trafficking—drugs or commercial exploitation of children."

The majority of youth entering the US illegally have a relative in the US that are prepared to take them in. In 2014, 96 percent of unaccompanied minors who crossed the border were eventually released to a family member living in the US. Anecdotal evidence shows this is still the trend—but it's the amount of time it takes to connect the children to their families that's fluctuated.

Federal data from May shows that, nationally, immigrant children are staying an average of 44 days. At the MCFS shelter—which holds up to 50 kids—an average stay is 28 days.

DiNucci says that timeframe is mostly based on their ability to track down a child's family member and confirm that they're able to safety care for the child.

Within 24 hours of arriving at the MCFS shelter, DiNucci says, immigrant kids meet with MCFS case managers who ask if the child has any family in the US. If they don't have a relative to live with, MCFS seeks out a sponsor—a family friend living in the US who may want to foster the child. Within a week of arrival, the youth meet with attorneys from the Immigration Counseling Services, a non-profit defense firm.

In some scenarios, a child might not have anyone in the US who can take them in, which is when they might move into MCFS's long-term residential facility. Kids living in that 20-person dorm go to public school and work with an attorney to seek permanent legal status.

MCFS also has a 16-bed facility for immigrant boys with mental and behavioral issues, called "Paso." In an interview with the Mercury last July, Henrie-McWilliams said many of Paso's tenants are victims of trafficking, have been forced to smuggle drugs, or have a history of fighting or breaking shelter rules. Former staff of that facility—which is off-limits for tours can also be toured through an ORR request—have raised concerns about the way it treats its residents.

DiNucci says that state and federal audits "have consistently found that Morrison’s facilities and services are of high quality and in compliance with federal and state regulations."

Along with its contract with ORR, MCFS has several contracts with Multnomah County to provide mental health services for children and young people. None of the county dollars contribute to MCFS's work with immigrants. Last summer, some critics of the federal immigrant program chided Multnomah County for funding a program that works closely with ORR. According to the county, those contracts are still intact.

It's not yet clear when Merkley—or any state official—intends on visiting MCFS. But, Hottman confirms: "I can tell you that Sen. Merkley is working to ensure that all children—unaccompanied or traveling with non-family members—are placed in homes as soon as possible."