Lafayette Reporter

MADISONVILLE, La. – Sens. John Kennedy (R-La.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and 44 other Republican senators have introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution aimed at preventing the Biden administration’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from enforcing a rule that would permit unaccompanied children at the border to be placed in the custody of unvetted sponsors.

“Pres. Biden’s failed policies led to a record number of unaccompanied children at the border, and now, his HHS has decided to make the problem worse. Congress should vote to throw out this rule and block the Biden administration’s unsafe open borders agenda,” said Kennedy.

The rule, titled the “Unaccompanied Children Program Foundational Rule,” would allow HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to place unaccompanied children with sponsors without properly scrutinizing their claims. The current policy does not consider factors such as a sponsor’s criminal record, illegal drug use, or history of abuse or neglect when determining whether migrant children will be safe in their care.

“The Biden administration ignored warnings from Congress and the Inspector General that its policies put children at risk and instead moved to finalize its current rule. Biden’s Health and Human Services Department has lost tens of thousands of vulnerable kids and handed over many others to abusers and criminals. This exploitation is one of the most heartbreaking tragedies the Biden Border Crisis has created. Since the Biden administration has refused to lift a finger to fix this problem, it’s now up to Congress to put a stop to it,” said Grassley.

Background

In February 2022, Kennedy introduced legislation aimed at stopping federal funding for groups involved in human trafficking and smuggling illegal aliens.

In March 2024, Kennedy joined Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) in introducing the Laken Riley Act, which would require U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the Biden administration to detain illegal immigrants who commit theft, burglary, larceny or shoplifting offenses.

In December 2023, Kennedy joined Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and 37 Republican colleagues in urging ORR Director Robin Dunn Marcos and Acting Assistant Secretary for the Administration of Children and Families Jeff Hild to overhaul the HHS rule.

Full text of the resolution is available here.

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