{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.young.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/young-colleagues-demand-changes-to-biden-administration-rule-endangering-safety-and-wellbeing-of-unaccompanied-alien-children/", "Young, Colleagues Demand Changes to Biden Administration Rule Endangering Safety and Wellbeing of Unaccompanied Alien Children", "2023-12-05", "2023", "2023-12", "Republican", "Senate", "IN", "Todd Young", "Y000064", "www.young.senate.gov", "toddyoung", "https://www.young.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and a group of over 30 Republican senators called on the Department of Health and Human Services\u2019 (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to overhaul its harmful and deficient policies governing the agency\u2019s treatment of unaccompanied alien children in the United States. ORR\u2019s Proposed Rule \u2013 parts of which the agency is already enforcing \u2013 allows vulnerable children to be placed in the custody of unvetted, potentially criminal sponsors and obstructs whistleblowers from reporting to Congress on abuse in the program. The senators are demanding ORR rewrite its policies or face congressional action to overturn the rule.\n\n\u201cThis Proposed Rule ignores nearly seven years of oversight conducted by Congress and the Office of Inspector General and reveals chronic foot-dragging\u2014if not total reluctance\u2014when it comes to protecting vulnerable children. It provides ample protections to government bureaucrats at the expense of children. Even more concerning, \u2018the requirements being [adopted] in this proposed rule are already enforced by [the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR)],\u2019\u201d the senators wrote.\n\n\u201c\u2026ORR does not even consider a sponsor\u2019s criminal record, current illegal drug use, history of abuse or neglect, or other child welfare concerns \u2018necessarily disqualifying to potential sponsorship.\u2019\u2026 In effect, ORR accepts a sponsor\u2019s representations almost entirely on face value,\u201d the senators continued.\n\n\u201cORR\u2019s Proposed Rule abdicates the agency\u2019s responsibility for protecting the vulnerable children in its custody from harmful behavior by poorly vetted, potential criminals. For these services, the taxpayer paid ORR $5.5 billion in FY2022. The Proposed Rule is wholly unworkable and ORR should discard it and its current practices. If not, Congress will have no choice but to introduce a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act,\u201d the senators concluded.\n\nIn addition to Senators Young and Grassley, Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), John Thune (R-S.D.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) also signed the letter.\n\nThe full letter can be found here and below:\n\nDecember 4, 2023\n\nVIA ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION\n\nRobin Dunn Marcos\n\nDirector\n\nOffice of Refugee Resettlement\n\nWashington, DC 20201\n\nJeff Hild\n\nActing Assistant Secretary\n\nAdministration for Children and Families\n\nWashington, DC 20201\n\nDear Director Dunn Marcos and Acting Assistant Secretary Hild:\n\nIn September, you approved the \u201cUnaccompanied Children Program Foundational Rule\u201d (\u201cProposed Rule\u201d), which contains a number of alarming, dangerous, and potentially illegal provisions.[1] This Proposed Rule ignores nearly seven years of oversight conducted by Congress and the Office of Inspector General and reveals chronic foot-dragging\u2014if not total reluctance\u2014when it comes to protecting vulnerable children. It provides ample protections to government bureaucrats at the expense of children. Even more concerning, \u201cthe requirements being [adopted] in this proposed rule are already enforced by [the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR)].\u201d\n\nIn FY2021, the Office on Trafficking in Persons saw a more than 140% increase from the previous year in requests for assistance on behalf of foreign national children. The majority of these requests were for unaccompanied alien children between the ages of 13 and 17. Despite the staggering number of unaccompanied children, the Proposed Rule makes most vetting for sponsors of unaccompanied minors simply optional. ORR may require \u201can investigation of the living conditions,\u201d \u201cverification of the identity and employment of the individuals offering support,\u201d \u201cinterviews of members of the household,\u201d \u201ca home visit,\u201d \u201creview of [the sponsor\u2019s] past criminal history,\u201d \u201cfingerprinting,\u201d consulate checks of sponsor identification, or \u201ca background check on the proposed sponsor.\u201d However, these basic checks are not necessary to receive custody of a child.\n\nIn fact, ORR does not even consider a sponsor\u2019s criminal record, current illegal drug use, history of abuse or neglect, or other child welfare concerns \u201cnecessarily disqualifying to potential sponsorship.\u201d \u201cORR would not disqualify potential sponsors based solely on their immigration status\u201d or \u201cemployment status,\u201d even if the sponsor was a complete stranger to the child.\n\nIn effect, ORR accepts a sponsor\u2019s representations almost entirely on face value. ORR then delivers the child at taxpayer expense and free-of-cost to the un-vetted sponsor, opening up the possibility that a vulnerable child could fall into the hands of a potentially criminal or drug-addicted sponsor. At this point, ORR considers its work largely done.\n\nORR assumes no role or responsibility in preventing a child\u2019s sponsor from giving him or her away after placement. According to the Proposed Rule, \u201cORR is not proposing to require that the sponsor seek ORR\u2019s permission to transfer custody of the unaccompanied [alien] child.\u201d It simply \u201cretains an interest in knowing this information.\u201d ORR will conduct a home study for \u201ca child who has been a victim of physical or sexual abuse,\u201d if the physical or sexual abuse occurred \u201cunder circumstances that indicate the child\u2019s health or welfare has been significantly harmed or threatened.\u201d However, the rule goes on to note that, if ORR checks-up on the child, it will \u201cinform the potential sponsor whenever it plans to conduct a home study.\u201d This would allow a criminal sponsor enough time to destroy evidence and intimidate the child. Worse, the Proposed Rule allows ORR to conduct certain safety and well-being check-ins virtually.\n\nORR also neglects to ensure a sponsor\u2019s legal immigration status. ORR \u201cwill not share any immigration status information relating to potential sponsors with any law enforcement or immigration related entity at any time.\u201d ORR appears equally ambivalent to the child\u2019s criminal conduct. Its influx facilities simply \u201cseparate \u2026 those unaccompanied [alien] children who \u2026 have perpetrated sexual abuse.\u201d In fact, \u201cORR would like to ensure law enforcement is called in response to an unaccompanied [alien] child\u2019s behavior only as a last resort\u201d and \u201ca call by a care provider facility to law enforcement may trigger an evaluation of staff involved regarding their qualifications\u2026\u201d\n\nRecognizing its conduct is objectionable, ORR\u2019s Proposed Rule protects the organization from congressional scrutiny by forcing whistleblowers to identify themselves to ORR before going to Congress. ORR\u2019s whistleblower retaliation is so pervasive that the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General recommended mandatory whistleblower protection training in 2022. The Assistant Secretary for Children and Families concurred with this recommendation and acknowledged \u201cwhistleblower protections are a key mechanisms for ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all children in ORR care.\u201d Yet in a shocking reversal, ORR now \u201cproposes that employees, former employees, or contractors \u2026 must not disclose unaccompanied [alien] children\u2019s case file records or provide information about unaccompanied [alien] children, their sponsors, family or house hold members to anyone \u2026 without first providing advanced notice to ORR.\u201d This advanced notice requirement expressly captures protected whistleblower disclosures and appears designed to keep employees quiet in violation of the Whistleblower Protection Act and other whistleblower protection provisions.\n\nORR\u2019s Proposed Rule abdicates the agency\u2019s responsibility for protecting the vulnerable children in its custody from harmful behavior by poorly vetted, potential criminals. For these services, the taxpayer paid ORR $5.5 billion in FY2022. The Proposed Rule is wholly unworkable and ORR should discard it and its current practices. If not, Congress will have no choice but to introduce a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:56:20Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.young.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/young-colleagues-demand-changes-to-biden-administration-rule-endangering-safety-and-wellbeing-of-unaccompanied-alien-children/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6967349220067263, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}