As President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown continues, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said she wants to explore reparations for migrants affected by enforcement policies.
Speaking at a congressional hearing Friday, Jayapal said families and children have been “traumatized” and should receive some form of compensation and support.
“We are going to have some form of reparation for the kids and the families that have been traumatized through all of this,” she said, adding that more funding is needed to provide ongoing relief services after people are released from custody.
The hearing was part of a series titled “Kidnapped and Disappeared: Trump’s Attack on Children.”
Jayapal said reparations would be one piece of a broader set of policies she would push for if Democrats regain control of the House in November.
She also called for what she described as “real accountability” for those carrying out immigration enforcement under the Trump administration.
“The people that have been inflicting this harm need to be prosecuted,” she said. “They need to be brought before us and held to account for the trauma that they have created.”
Her office did not clarify who specifically she believes should face prosecution or how a reparations program would be structured.
Reparations typically refer to financial compensation meant to address past harm to a specific group. Some Democrats have supported similar proposals in other contexts, including for descendants of enslaved people in the United States.
During the hearing, Democratic lawmakers focused heavily on the impact of deportations on children and families. Critics, however, noted that the discussion did not address crimes committed by people in the country illegally, including a recent case in Chicago where an 18-year-old was allegedly killed by a Venezuelan national without legal status.
Jayapal’s comments come as a funding standoff over the Department of Homeland Security stretches on. She and many House Democrats have said they will not support additional funding for immigration enforcement agencies without significant policy changes.
“I will not vote to give Trump’s ICE or CBP another cent without major reforms,” Jayapal said after voting against a short-term funding extension.
Democrats have indicated openness to funding other parts of DHS, but Republicans have opposed separating out immigration enforcement, arguing it would effectively undercut those agencies.
As the impasse continues, some DHS employees tied to immigration enforcement have been working without full pay during the funding lapse.
