Congressional Politics

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., used a Friday House hearing on Trump-era immigration policies to call for "some form of reparation" for children and families here illegally who she says were traumatized by the crackdown, and for "offensive action" to prosecute those who carried it out. Speaking during the seventh "Kidnapped and Disappeared: Trump’s Attack on Children" hearing, the former Congressional Progressive Caucus chair said reparations would be part of a broader package of reforms she wants Democrats to pursue if they regain House control in November. Jayapal did not specify who exactly should be prosecuted or which noncitizens would qualify for compensation, and her office did not respond to Fox’s questions on those points. The remarks came as Democrats continue to withhold votes to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security in a record-length shutdown, demanding changes to immigration enforcement, and as conservative media and social channels seized on her comments as evidence of a push to compensate people who violated immigration law while not addressing crimes committed by some undocumented immigrants.