MADISONVILLE, La. – Sens. John Kennedy (R-La.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and 44 other Republican senators introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to prevent the Biden administration’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from enforcing a rule that would allow 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 the HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to place unaccompanied children in a sponsor’s custody without properly scrutinizing a sponsor’s claims. The Biden administration’s ORR does not consider a sponsor’s criminal record, illegal drug use or history of abuse or neglect in determining whether migrant children will be safe in a particular sponsor’s 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 Feb. 2022, Kennedy introduced legislation to stop the federal government from funding groups that engage in human trafficking and smuggling illegal aliens.

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

• In Dec. 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.