Rep. Steube and Sen. Moody Introduce Stop GAPS Act
WASHINGTON — U.S. Representative Greg Steube (R-Fla.) this week introduced the House companion bill to the Stop Government Abandonment and Placement Scandals Act of 2025 (Stop GAPS Act), first introduced this Congress by Senator Ashley Moody (R-Fla.). The Stop GAPS Act will reform the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) under the Department of Health and Human Services to protect unaccompanied migrant children who arrive in the United States.
“It’s no secret that the Biden administration’s open border policies were an abject disaster. Not only did they allow for a migrant invasion, but a red carpet was rolled out for dangerous criminals to prey on vulnerable youth,” said Rep. Steube. “Among the many victims of Biden’s border crisis were tens of thousands of unaccompanied migrant children who were misplaced or lost after being processed through the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
Current law allows the ORR to place unaccompanied children with any adult or entity seeking custody. No responsible parent would ever leave their child with a random stranger, and neither should the federal government. The Stop GAPS Act builds upon the Trump administration’s success at securing the border by requiring the ORR to work with state and local authorities to guarantee safe and proper vetting of all individuals and entities before granting them custody of any unaccompanied child.”
“We’re incredibly proud of the provisions we have already passed in the One Big Beautiful Bill to protect children but there is more to be done,” said Senator Moody. “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. We 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. I’m grateful to Representative Steube for fighting alongside me on this important issue.”
Background:
- In the March 20, 2024, Committee on Ways and Means hearing, Rep. Steube questioned then-HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra about the ORR’s process for finding placements and shelter for unaccompanied migrant children. Of the more than 100 questions submitted by the committee, Rep. Steube’s ORR question was one of only two questions Becerra declined to answer.
- In the Third Presentment of the Twenty-First Statewide Grand Jury in Florida, it was revealed that:
- The Biden DOJ received thousands of allegations of sexual abuse related to unaccompanied minors processed through the ORR.
- Under the Biden administration, the ORR permitted individuals with criminal records, no citizenship, and who refused a background check from receiving custody of unaccompanied children.
- Over the course of ten months in 2021, the ORR lost contact with nearly 20,000 unaccompanied children.
- Under the Biden ORR, case managers failed to perform home studies on more than 95% of placements of unaccompanied children.
- Grand jury testimony revealed unaccompanied children were placed in the custody of convicted felons and homes with multiple unknown male occupants.
Read the full bill here.
