Click image above to view Senator
Moody’s remarks
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today,
Senator Ashley Moody introduced two pieces of legislation to expand immigration
enforcement efforts and reverse reckless and dangerous policies implemented by
the Biden administration. The Reimbursement for Immigration Partnerships
with Police to Allow Local Law Enforcement Act, or RIPPLE Act, is an
expansion of the 287(g) program that enables states to assist in immigration
enforcement and expedites the process of fixing Biden’s open-border mess that
wreaked chaos across the country. The Stop Government Abandonment and
Placement Scandals (Stop GAPS) Act requires the Office of Refugee
Resettlement (ORR) in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to work
with states when placing unaccompanied migrant children with an adult or entity
seeking custody. The bill aims to address Biden’s ORR losing track of tens of
thousands of children who were often times placed in dangerous situations—reported in the Third Presentment of the Twenty-First Statewide Grand Jury in
Florida.
Senator Ashley Moody
said, “The Biden administration did historic damage to our country’s
immigration and national security structures, putting our nation and
unaccompanied children at risk, and turning federal agencies into middlemen for
mass human trafficking operations. As Florida’s Attorney General I fought constantly
in court to stop the intentional destruction of our border and trafficking of
minors.
“Expanding the 287(g) program will provide resources to
state law enforcement to more efficiently get dangerous criminals out of our
communities. Right now, we are watching disorder and chaos spread through
California. This bill will ensure that our local, state and federal law
enforcement have the resources they need to hold those who break the law
accountable. This lawlessness will not be tolerated. As a United States
Senator, I will continue to work with President Trump to not only reverse the
failures of the Biden administration but ensure that it can never happen
again—the RIPPLE Act and The Stop Government Abandonment and
Placement Scandals (Stop GAPS) Act are critical steps.”
Congresswoman Laurel Lee,
the lead House sponsor of the RIPPLE Act, said, “Amid the escalating civil
unrest in Los Angeles, our law enforcement officers, with unwavering courage,
face life-threatening situations while upholding the rule of law and protecting
communities from the chaos of riots. Their actions demonstrate a selfless
dedication to preserving our nation’s security and values. The RIPPLE Act
ensures that local law enforcement officers have the support they need to help
enforce immigration laws. By covering overtime pay and key personnel costs,
this bill ensures that local, state, and federal law enforcement officers can
work together to stop the chaos and lawlessness in California, and to ensure
our immigration laws are followed across America.”
BACKGROUND:
The Reimbursement for Immigration Partnerships with
Police to Allow Local Law Enforcement Act, or the RIPPLE Act, expands
eligible reimbursable expenses to state and local law enforcement agencies
participating in the 287(g) program. It would enable non-federal law
enforcement agencies to commit already-sworn officers to immigration
enforcement so they can act as a force multiplier for federal immigration
enforcement in the short term while hiring, training, and on-boarding new
federal officers – a more time-intense process – is underway.
The Stop Government Abandonment and
Placement Scandals (Stop GAPS) Act, would strike existing law which allows
the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to place unaccompanied children with
any adult or entity seeking custody. It would require ORR to work with states to help find
homes and proper placements for the minors and to track these children for the
duration of their stay in U.S. while immigration proceedings are ongoing.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) is a division of
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that is responsible for
coordinating the care and placement of refugees, including unaccompanied
children, who arrive in the United States. When children arrive in the United
States without a parent or legal guardian, they are initially processed by U.S.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) and subsequently transferred to the custody of the ORR, which is
responsible for their care and placement.
The Biden Administration infamously lost track of tens of
thousands of unaccompanied immigrant children, many of whom were placed into
dangerous situations as reported in the Third Presentment of the Twenty-First Statewide Grand Jury in Florida. Additionally, the Biden HHS refused to provide documents or
produce witnesses before the Grand Jury and apparently actively encouraged the
Florida entities with which it has contracted to not cooperate with the Grand
Jury.
According to the Grand Jury findings:
“ORR is facilitating the forced migration, sale, and abuse
of foreign children…This process exposes children to horrifying health
conditions, constant criminal threat, labor and sex trafficking, robbery, rape
and other experiences not done justice by mere words.”
The presentment found, among other things:
- During
a 10-month period in 2021, ORR lost contact with nearly 20,000 UAC;
- A report showed HHS and the
U.S. Department of Justice received thousands of allegations of sexual
abuse;
- Testimony of UAC revealed that
a minor was ‘pimped out’ by their ‘aunt’ (whom they did not know prior to
arriving in the U.S.), some UAC ran away from sponsors for being sold for
sex, and ORR placed a teenage girl in the house of unknown men with no
private bedroom;
- ORR discouraged close checking
of addresses of sponsors and some sponsors utilized addresses in
Jacksonville including a strip club, empty lots surrounded by stacked
shipping containers or open fields;
- During the Biden
administration, case managers are only performing home studies in
approximately 4.5% placements and discretionary home studies in less than
one percent of cases.
- One case manager reported
having to release a teenage girl to a male sponsor with multiple other
unknown males living in the same residence—all unidentified. The
presentment stated this is not an isolated incident.
- Criminal history, lack of
citizen status and even total refusal to submit to a background check does
not disqualify sponsors from receiving a UAC. One sponsor was given
custody despite having been to Florida prison before for battery on a
child;
- A disturbing pattern emerged
with sponsors applying to receive multiple UAC. One address in Texas
showed 44 children sent to a single residence. One contractor testified
that it placed 598 UAC with only 132 sponsors or each sponsor receiving
4.5 UAC;
- In Florida, neither U.S.
Department of Homeland Security or HHS actively coordinates or consults
with the state on the UAC resettled in Florida. The state doesn’t receive
meaningful notice when UAC are transported here. Florida receives no
information on backgrounds, criminal history or immigration status of the
UAC brought here, nor does the state have any assurance the UAC are
in-fact minors; and
- During a six-month period in 2021, more than 70
airplanes landed at Jacksonville International Airport, arriving in the
middle of the night at the commercial terminal with UAC. One of these UAC
was actually 24 years old and ended up brutally killing his sponsor. ORR
now conceals small groups of UAC on regular commercial flights.
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