WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) joined U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and 43 Senate colleagues in introducing a bipartisan Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to strike down the Biden administration’s rule endangering the safety and wellbeing of unaccompanied alien children.
“The Biden administration’s policies willfully put children at risk—this is yet another example of the heartbreaking results of the wide-open border,” said Senator Tuberville. “It is our duty to protect those who cannot protect themselves. If Biden won’t do it, Congress must act.”
Senator Tuberville was joined by Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Boozman (R-AR), Mike Braun (R-IN), Katie Britt (R-AL), Ted Budd (R-NC), Shelley Moore Capito (R-LA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Steve Daines (R-MT), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Josh Hawley (R-MO), John Hoeven (R-ND), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Ron Johnson (R-WI), John Kennedy (R-LA), James Lankford (R-OK), Mike Lee (R-UT), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Joe Manchin (I-WV), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Jim Risch (R-ID), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Rick Scott (R-FL), Tim Scott (R-SC), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), John Thune (R-SD), Thom Tillis (R-NC), J.D. Vance (R-OH), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and Todd Young (R-IN) in cosponsoring the resolution.
Read the resolution here.
BACKGROUND
Migrant children who enter the U.S. illegally without an adult are detained and placed in the Unaccompanied Children program, run by the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). HHS’s UC program is intended to reunify unaccompanied migrant children with family members or other trusted adult sponsors residing in the U.S. The federal government pays contractors and grantees billions of taxpayer dollars to operate the UC program and enforce HHS’s negligent policies.
The HHS rule Tuberville is seeking to overturn, which was finalized in April, codifies harmful practices, including:
- Lax or optional sponsor vetting;
- Refusal to consider a sponsor’s criminal record, including illegal drug use, history of abuse or neglect, or other necessarily disqualifying child welfare concerns;
- Refusal to share a sponsor’s immigration status with law enforcement;
- Weak standards for post-release home studies to determine a child’s status or safety once in the custody of a sponsor; and
- Restrictions on whistleblowers’ rights to disclose to Congress and the HHS Inspector General (IG) information on wrongdoing and misconduct in the program.
In December 2023, Senator Tuberville joined his colleagues in sending a letter to HHS officials calling out the harmful and deficient policies regarding the treatment of unaccompanied alien children.
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, and HELP Committees.
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