Immigrant Access to Abortion
is being restricted by the administration’s Office of Refugee Resettlement
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Why It Matters
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The Trump-Pence administration introduced a new policy that requires immigrants under the age of 18 who are in custody with the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to get the government’s approval to access safe, legal abortion.
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The new policy aims to block young immigrant women from accessing abortion safely and legally.
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The policy has been used to deny every request for abortion made so far, but all of the women requesting access have found a way around the new policy — including through a recent injunction that puts the policy on hold for now.
Key Players
Former Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (HHS)
Resigned: June 2019
Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Nominated by Trump: 11-13-2017
U.S. Attorney General (DOJ)
Nominated by Trump: 1-3-2019
Former U.S. Attorney General (DOJ)
Resigned: 11-07-2018How We Got Here & Where We're Headed
Timeline
- What to expect next
Despite an injunction, the government could continue pressuring refugees to not have abortions - 9-1-2019
Supreme Court temporarily permits third-country rule, which denies most asylum claims at the Southern border - 8-21-2019
Trump administration announced a final "family detention" rule that would allow the administration to detain children indefinitely. The rule is currently scheduled to take effect Oct. 20. - 8-12-2019
Trump administration issues final “public charge” rule designed to stop immigrants from accessing public benefits to which they are legally entitled; the rule will likely take effect on or around Oct. 15, 2019 - 7-16-2019
Rule issued that makes immigrants ineligible for U.S. asylum if they passed through Mexico — denying asylum to nearly all South American immigrants
- 11-9-2018
Trump announces a policy to severely restrict asylum for immigrants - 10-10-2018
Rule proposed to keep low-income immigrants from entering or staying in the U.S. - 9-7-2018
Proposed family detention rule to let U.S. jail immigrant children indefinitely - 6-11-2018
Jeff Sessions says immigrants fleeing domestic violence don’t qualify for asylum - 4-6-2018
U.S. sharply increases separation of immigrant families at the border - 3-27-2018
Administration says it plans to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census - 12-18-2017
Refugee office head says he interfered with undocumented women’s abortion access - 12-14-2017
Administration starts detaining pregnant immigrants during legal proceedings - 10-10-2017
ACLU sues ORR for blocking a detained undocumented woman’s access to abortion - 9-5-2017
The administration announces it’s ending DACA
“This is my life, my decision. I want a better future. I want justice.”
Interfering in Immigrants’ Access to Safe, Legal Abortion
The administration's policy to interfere in immigrants’ access to safe, legal abortion affects the hundreds of pregnant, undocumented immigrant women who are in ORR’s custody every year. These women, who are age 17 or younger, are often alone and facing language and cultural barriers.
Background on the Office of Refugee Resettlement's Interference With Access to Abortion
Scott Lloyd — the Man Behind the Policy
Former ORR Director Scott Lloyd helped create the policy — which gives the refugee office director final say in whether young immigrant women can access safe, legal abortion. He is the one who gets to decide.
Tracking Trump: Scott LloydIn one of many such cases, the ACLU sued the ORR in October 2017 for unconstitutionally blocking a young undocumented woman in its custody from access to abortion and violating the constitutional right to abortion. The policy has been fiercely defended by Secretary of HHS Alex Azar and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions — even though it’s clearly unconstitutional and therefore illegal.
The HillAccording to documents released by MSNBC and American Bridge in March 2019, the government was not just tracking pregnant people. Reports indicate that the ORR director was also tracking the menstrual cycles of undocumented girls in its custody — ostensibly to find out if they became pregnant. Former ORR Director Scott Lloyd denied this under oath, but the revelations in the news spurred members of Congress to ask Lloyd to clarify.
Hip LatinaThe ORR denied at least seven young women’s requests for abortion — even when the pregnancy resulted from rape. All of these women were ultimately able to access abortion despite the government’s extreme efforts.
New York TimesIn an overreach of power, the ORR director received a weekly updated spreadsheet on the condition of every pregnant teen in its custody. Under Director Scott Lloyd, the ORR went so far as to consider forcing a teenage girl in custody to undergo an experimental and unproven treatment to "reverse" an abortion.
ViceU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) used to have limits on detaining pregnant immigrants that almost always required releasing them on bond or under supervision. However, the administration has expanded ICE’s power to detain pregnant immigrants. The new policy to hold pregnant immigrants in custody during their immigration proceedings is having devastating effects on the detained women, their pregnancies, and their families. The number of undocumented women who had miscarriages while in government detention nearly doubled in the administration’s first two years.
Tracking Trump: Detaining Pregnant Immigrant WomenRelated Issues
Legal Status for Dreamers
Detention of Pregnant Immigrants
2020 Census
Separating Immigrant Families
Asylum
Public Benefits for Immigrants
