GOP Senators’ New Bill Would Block Biden Administration From Paying Illegal Immigrants – Epoch Times

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GOP Senators’ New Bill Would Block Biden Administration From Paying Illegal Immigrants

By Zachary Stieber
December 2, 2021 Updated: December 2, 2021
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President Joe Biden’s administration would be blocked from issuing settlement payments to illegal immigrants if a new bill introduced by top Republicans is passed by Congress.

The legislation, titled the “Protect American Taxpayer Dollars from Illegal Immigration Act,” would prevent federal funds from being spent to pay illegal immigrants.

Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), John Cornyn (R-Texas) introduced the bill on Thursday with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

“We are seeing the most illegal immigration this year alone than ever recorded, and now President Biden wants to give illegal immigrants a payout, further rewarding lawlessness and chaos,” Tillis said in a statement.

“It would be unthinkable to pay damages to a burglar who broke into your home for the ‘psychological trauma’ they endured during the crime. And yet the Biden administration wants to reward migrants who illegally entered our country with up to $450,000 each for just that reason,” Cotton added.

The payments in question are being considered by the Department of Justice to settle lawsuits brought by illegal aliens who were separated from family members under the Trump administration.

The Biden administration initially denied illegal immigrants would receive such payments but later acknowledged they may, with Biden even saying the aliens “deserve some kind of compensation.”

Epoch Times Photo
Border Patrol agents apprehend and transport illegal immigrants who have just crossed the river into La Joya, Texas, on Nov. 17, 2021. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

The new bill would quash the efforts, though it would need some Democrat support to pass through Congress.

Democrats hold a slim majority in the House of Representatives and a majority in the 50-50 Senate through the tiebreaking vote Vice President Kamala Harris can cast.

Twenty-five additional Republican senators co-sponsored the bill, including Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Mitt Romney (R-Utah).

Republicans are also angling to block the payments through an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022.

Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) were among the group that introduced the amendment last month, though no Democrats have yet indicated support for it.

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said on the Senate floor Thursday that the payments “would case a mad rush, if not a stampede, to the country and into the country.”

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, speaking to a Senate panel in November, denied the idea that the payments would serve as a “pull factor” for illegal immigration.

He received support from Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who called it “a ridiculous idea” that people would head to the United States because families that were separated receive payments.

Zachary Stieber

Zachary Stieber covers U.S. news, including politics and court cases. He started at The Epoch Times as a New York City metro reporter.
Featured Image: Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) speaks to supporters in Mooresville, N.C., on Nov. 3, 2020. (Brian Blanco/Getty Images)
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