Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) hosted a hearing on Friday titled “Kidnapped and Disappeared: Trump’s Attack on Children.” During her remarks before a “panel of experts,” Jayapal called for taxpayer-funded reparations for illegal immigrants who have been traumatized by the Trump administration’s deportation program.
Jayapal, one of the most progressive members of Congress, said: “We also need offensive actions around prosecutions. We need real accountability. Because, at the end of the day, the people who have been inflicting this harm need to be prosecuted.
She argued, “We are going to have to have some form of reparations for the kids and the families that have been traumatized through all of this.”
The New York Post noted that Jayapal made no mention of “how the reparations would be funded” or how eligibility would be determined.
But she is committed to seeing this through. “There’s a lot that’s on our plate, but I want you to know how seriously we take this issue and how committed I am,” she said.
Even by the Democrats’ already low standards, it was an extraordinary statement.
Following Jayapal’s predictable “no” vote on Friday night’s House-passed stopgap bill to fund the entire Department of Homeland Security for 60 days, including ICE, she issued the following statement:
I have been clear since the start of the appropriations process; I will not vote to give Trump’s ICE or CBP another cent without major reforms. ICE and CBP agents have killed American citizens on the streets, terrorized communities, and forever traumatized families and children. Republicans in the House and Senate continue to refuse to implement any meaningful reforms — it appears they want ICE and CBP to continue their lawless reign of terror against American families and communities.
It appears Jayapal has not recognized that these individuals entered the country in violation of federal immigration laws, and that many of those who’ve been deported have committed additional crimes — some heinous — during their time in the U.S.
Nor has she acknowledged that the two fatal ICE-related shootings occurred when the behavior of anti-ICE agitators Renee Good and Alexander Pretti moved well beyond the bounds of legal protest and involved direct interference with federal law enforcement operations.
Outside of Jayapal’s political base, it’s unlikely that many Americans would support paying reparations to individuals who entered the country unlawfully. President Trump campaigned and won on his promise to close the Biden administration’s open border and deport illegal aliens.
While this proposal is a nonstarter, it’s infuriating that a U.S. congresswoman would fight harder for the rights and the well-being of illegal immigrants than she would for the U.S. citizens who elected her to office.
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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