Scott Lloyd, director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, oversees the program for tens of thousands of refugees who are looking for shelter in the United States, but he spends much of his time trying to stop young, undocumented immigrants from getting abortions, The New York Times reported.
Lloyd has instructed his staff to provide a spreadsheet each week that lists any minors that are not accompanied by parents who have asked for an abortion, and how far along they are in their pregnancy, the newspaper reported.
In at least one case, Lloyd directed staff members to read one girl a description of what happens during an abortion. For counseling, Lloyd's office calls on someone from a list of "life affirming" pregnancy resource centers, the Times reported.
A judge ruled on March 30 that the government cannot interfere with pregnant immigrant children from getting counseling or abortions.
Government lawyers have asked for a stay and plan to appeal the ruling, the Times reported.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, where the senior ranks contain activists who have careers in advancing socially conservative policies.
One hire is a deputy general counsel who was a lawyer with the Alliance Defending Freedom, which opposes gay rights and abortion. The chief of staff to the assistant secretary of health used to lead an abstinence advocacy group.
The head of the department's Office for Civil Rights worked at the Heritage Foundation promoting religious freedom policies, the Times reported.
A new entity inside the Office of Civil Rights is the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division, which is set to respond to allegations of violations of conscience and religious protections, the report said.
Activists on both sides of the issues say that no White House administration has been as aggressive as this one in working on policies that mirror the religious right, the report said.
Many developments in abortion law are conducted now at the agency level, which concerns the American Civil Liberties Union, which has sued and won against Lloyd a number of times, the report said.
The Administration for Children and Families at HHS, which oversees the Office of Refugee Resettlement, said that Lloyd is the legal guardian for the undocumented minors, so the law requires him to keep their interests in mind.
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