U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R) released a statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed his Kayla Hamilton Act, legislation that would require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to conduct comprehensive background and criminal checks on unaccompanied alien children (UAC) and their potential sponsors before placement.
The bill is named in honor of Kayla Hamilton, a young woman who was assaulted and murdered by a 17-year-old MS-13 gang member who entered the United States illegally as an unaccompanied minor and was later released to a sponsor.
According to Cornyn, the legislation is intended to close what he described as a vetting gap in the current UAC placement process.
He argued that the border polices of the Biden-Harris administration allowed unvetted individuals to enter the country, creating risks to public safety, and he said the bill would help prevent similar tragedies in the future by strengthening screening requirements.
"The Biden-Harris border crisis allowed for countless unvetted aliens to flood into the country and harm innocent Americans, and I am glad the House has passed my legislation named in honor of Kayla Hamilton to fix this unvetting loophole," said Cornyn.
The Kayla Hamilton Act would prohibit the release of UACs into the custody of individuals who are criminals or unlawfully present in the United States. The placement restrictions would also apply to any adult residing in a potential sponsor's household who has a criminal history.
"We owe it to Kayla and other victims of senseless tragedies to ensure comprehensive background and criminal record checks are conducted on unaccompanied alien children and potential sponsors prior to their placement, and I am glad we are one step closer to ensuring more thorough vetting is the law of the land," Cornyn affirmed.
The legislation would require the federal government to ensure UACs appear for immigration and judicial proceedings, place certain high-risk minors in secure facilities, and obtain criminal records from the UAC's country or the last place they lived.
The bill also directs HHS to collect detailed identifying and background information from sponsors and household members and mandates gang-related screenings, including examinations for tattoos or markings, for UACs over the age of 12.
The legislation was cosponsored by fellow Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R) and highlights the need for Conservative Leadership to prevent future incidents like this from occurring again.
