UPDATE, 2 p.m.: In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for HHS said officials have been “briefing Members on both sides of the aisle, in both the House of Representatives and Senate, on the allegations of sexual abuse and inappropriate sexual behavior.” The spokesperson did not name the lawmakers the agency met with.“HHS … has communicated to Congressman Deutch that we will be happy to meet with him, once he corrects the hearing record from last week and provides an apology to the dedicated men and women working tirelessly to protect and improve the lives of unaccompanied alien children in our care,” she said.

Trump administration officials overseeing the sheltering of migrant children have refused to meet with some members of Congress about recent allegations that adult employees preyed on children in their custody.

Nine days have passed since the public first learned of thousands of cases of alleged sexual misconduct in facilities supervised by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which is housed under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

But senior officials have refused to meet with some Democrats to address the issue. They are demanding an apology for a semantic misstep during a high-profile hearing last week, when Rep. Ted Deutch of Florida referred to shelter workers contracted under HHS as “staff.”

HHS overlooks children apprehended at the border and transferred to the custody of nonprofits like Southwest Key Programs and BCFS.