ACLU Statement on Scott Lloyd’s Departure from Office of Refugee Resettlement

WASHINGTON — The Department of Health and Human Services announced today that Scott Lloyd is stepping down from his position as head of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to a new role as senior advisor to the Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives.

Brigitte Amiri, deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Reproductive Freedom Project, had the following response:

“Scott Lloyd spent his time at ORR cruelly flouting the agency’s stated goal of serving as a ‘safe haven,’ instead imposing his anti-abortion views on young women in his care. He abused his position of power to try to coerce pregnant minors to carry unwanted pregnancies to term by trying to prevent those who wished to pursue their constitutional right to abortion from leaving the shelter. The damage Scott Lloyd inflicted on the people he was charged to protect, and to the agency itself, will not be easily erased.

“We urge the next Congress to conduct careful oversight of ORR to ensure that ORR is following the court order ensuring that the young women in the office’s custody are able to access the care they need. We also urge Congress to conduct oversight of the Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives to prevent Lloyd from trampling on other constitutional protections, such as the freedom of religion, at his new post.”