November 13, 2018 Press Release

BREAKING: Trump’s Refugee Director Finds Free Time to Write Anti-Abortion Book As Hundreds of Children Remain Separated From Families

Equity Forward Renews its call: “HHS Secretary Alex Azar, it’s past time to fire Scott Lloyd”

11.13.18 – Moments ago, Politico reported that Office of Refugee Resettlement Director (ORR) Scott Lloyd has been writing a book about his anti-abortion beliefs, despite the fact that nearly 250 children still remain separated from their families due to the Trump administration’s cruel and inhumane “zero tolerance” policy.  Politico also reports that health department lawyers are involved since government officials are discouraged from writing on issues that intersect with their work.

Said Mary Alice Carter, Executive Director of Equity Forward:

“Today’s revelation is a brutal reminder that Trump’s Refugee Director Scott Lloyd cares only about elevating his own personal obsession with abortion, even as hundreds of children remain separated from their families.  

“Lloyd will fixate on a spreadsheet of pregnant women so he can stand in the way of them accessing abortion, but won’t be bothered to create a spreadsheet to track separated children.  He’ll spend the taxpayer’s time and dime on his out-of-touch anti-abortion beliefs, but disobey a direct order to review case files of separated families.

“As one of the greatest humanitarian crises in this country escalated, with children potentially damaged for the rest of their lives, it appears Lloyd decided to use his time putting pen to paper to share his outdated and dangerous views on abortion.  How is this even possible?

“Today’s revelation must serve as the last straw.  Scott Lloyd is simply unfit for public office. Every day that Azar doesn’t take action to fire Lloyd is a disgrace and a stain on his tenure at HHS.  Secretary Azar must fire Director Lloyd immediately.”

This is not the first time Secretary Azar should have fired Director Lloyd.  From his obsession with trying to stop young women in ORR custody from accessing abortion care to fudging the number of children in his care, Lloyd has time and time again exhibited extreme incompetence and cruelty as Trump’s Refugee Director.

Equity Forward has long been sounding the alarm on Azar’s HHS and specifically on Lloyd.  This summer, Equity Forward launched a seven-figure ad campaign to urge Congress to exercise its oversight responsibilities over HHS.  The campaign is part of Equity Forward’s “HHS Watch,” a project to promote transparency and accountability at the Department of Health and Human Services.

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