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This week, the House is set to vote on Congressman Russell Fry’s Kayla Hamilton Act, a bill that deals with an issue far too close to home for us here in South Carolina.

Many of you remember the heartbreaking case in Lancaster where a mother was murdered by individuals who never should have been in our community to begin with. Three of them were unaccompanied alien children, or “UACs,” who were allowed into this country with virtually no vetting, no criminal background checks, and no meaningful oversight. That tragedy wasn’t just a failure of policy. It was a complete breakdown of common sense from Washington.

For years, the UAC program has been abused by criminal organizations, cartels, and gang members because the federal government refuses to do the bare minimum to verify who these individuals really are. Families in our communities have paid the price for that negligence.

This bill will require the Department of Health and Human Services to obtain criminal records for UACs aged 12 and older before placing them with a sponsor, mandate a screening for gang tattoos and identifiers during standard medical assessments, and ensure that minors with known gang ties are housed in secure HHS facilities, not released into neighborhoods.

These are straightforward, reasonable reforms. And they’re necessary because we’ve watched what happens when federal agencies don’t take these responsibilities seriously.

The left may try to paint basic safety measures as controversial, but ask any parent here in the 5th District whether they want these unvetted individuals released next door. Their answer will be the same as mine. Absolutely not!!

I appreciate Rep. Fry for leading the charge on this legislation to make sure tragedies like the one in Lancaster never happen again.