Republican Senators Introduce Bill to Block Settlement Payments to Separated Illegal Immigrants

Republican senators introduce bill to block settlement payments to separated illegal immigrants:

Biden has said he has ‘no idea’ what any payments would be to illegal immigrants

Republican lawmakers in the Senate on Thursday will introduce legislation to bar the Biden administration from making payments to illegal immigrants who were separated during the Trump administration – amid a continuing controversy over reported plans by the administration to make massive payouts to illegal immigrants.

Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Tom Cotton, R-Ark., John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell will introduce the Protect American Taxpayer Dollars from Illegal Immigration Act.

The legislation would bar the use of federal funds, including the Judgment Fund, which pays for court judgments and lawsuit settlements against the federal government, for illegal immigrants if the settlements are related to their detention at the border after Jan. 20, 2017.

The bill is in response to reported plans by the administration to settle with illegal immigrants who were separated from family members during the Trump administration and are suing the government as a result.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the government was eyeing payments of up to $450,000 per person – meaning some illegal immigrant families could potentially see payments in the millions.

“Our southern border is a disaster, and President Biden’s failed policies have continued to fuel this ongoing crisis,” Tillis said in a statement. “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.”

“These $450,000 settlements are an insult to all hardworking Americans who will subsequently be funding these large settlements with their hard-earned tax dollars,” he said. “I am proud to work with my colleagues to make sure this doesn’t happen.” —>READ MORE HERE

GOP senators announce bill to block payments to illegal immigrants from separated families:

More than two dozen Republican senators, including party leader Mitch McConnell, signed onto a bill Thursday that would block the Biden administration from making settlement payments to illegal immigrants who saw their families separated during the Trump administration.

Sen. Thom Tillis, the North Carolina Republican leading the legislation, said reports of $450,000 payments to illegal immigrants were “an insult to all hardworking Americans” who would foot the bill.

“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,” he said.

While not the first bill, it is the highest-powered version, with Senate Republicans’ top leadership on board. Republicans had hoped to attach language blocking the payments to other pieces of legislation, such as the defense policy bill now being debated on the Senate floor, but those efforts have faltered.

The Biden administration is negotiating with lawyers for thousands of illegal immigrants snared by the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance border policy. Under that policy, parents who jumped the border with their children in tow were prosecuted for illegal entry, a misdemeanor. —>READ MORE HERE

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