Westbank Louisiana News

On September 18, 2024, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, delivered a floor speech condemning the Biden-Harris administration’s actions regarding the exploitation of unaccompanied migrant children in its care.

Cassidy's remarks came ahead of Senate Democrats blocking Republican legislation aimed at prohibiting federal funds for any Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) grantee facing suspension and debarment procedures for allowing illegal sexual abuse or harassment of children. Recently, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Southwest Key Programs, alleging that its employees committed sexual abuse against unaccompanied children in its shelters for nearly a decade. Cassidy previously called on the HELP Committee chair to hold a hearing with Southwest Key and ORR officials to address these allegations.

“The problems with ORR and the exploitation of children have been well-documented for years. Yet there has been no substantive effort by Biden or Harris to fix their open border policies or reform ORR to protect unaccompanied children from harm,” said Dr. Cassidy. “Unfortunately, it is clear Democrats do not treat the border or the exploitation of children as a serious problem that needs to be fixed, but a purely messaging issue they only need to prioritize in an election year.”

“I hope my Democrat colleagues join Republicans tonight to pass this commonsense bill to hold ORR contractors accountable for the exploitation of children under their watch. We must protect these vulnerable children from further harm,” continued Dr. Cassidy.

In his speech, Cassidy discussed his ongoing investigation into systemic failures at ORR, which is responsible for caring for unaccompanied migrant children once they cross the border and ensuring they are released to safe and thoroughly vetted sponsors. Cassidy learned of cases where Biden-Harris officials released these children to dangerous sponsors, including sexual predators and those with close ties to MS-13 gang members. Many of these children are also forced into dangerous working conditions and exploited for illegal labor.

Last month, Cassidy penned a Fox News op-ed detailing how Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ open border policies have led to ORR’s failures in protecting unaccompanied children from exploitation.

Cassidy emphasized that when President Biden and Vice President Harris took office, illegal immigration rates were at their lowest in nearly 50 years due to strong border policies inherited from President Trump. However, he stated that overturning these policies led to unprecedented rates of illegal immigration and overwhelmed ORR.

The senator highlighted that ORR responded by sending children to hastily constructed emergency care facilities with untrained staff and poor living conditions while removing key sponsor vetting requirements after senior Biden-Harris officials directed ORR to expedite releasing migrant children.

As ranking member of the Senate HELP Committee, Cassidy is investigating what he describes as failures by the Biden-Harris administration in protecting migrant children from exploitation and abuse. He noted instances where ORR's weakening of sponsor vetting requirements directly led to harmful situations for the children involved.

In addition to his investigation, Cassidy joined Senators Grassley and Johnson earlier this summer in hosting a Senate roundtable examining ORR’s failures and identifying steps Congress could take toward reforming the agency.

Cassidy also pointed out ongoing issues within Southwest Key Programs' facilities under DOJ investigation for child labor violations among other abuses. Despite allegations against Southwest Key Programs involving nearly a decade-long pattern of sexual abuse by employees against unaccompanied minors as young as five years old, no significant action has been taken according to Cassidy.

The senator called on Congress for legislative measures prohibiting federal funds allocation towards entities like Southwest Key facing suspension procedures due to such allegations while urging bipartisan cooperation on this matter.

 

"The exploitation of children should not be partisan," concluded Dr. Cassidy.

 

For updates from HELP Republicans visit their website or Twitter at @GOPHELP.