House Democrat Seeks Reparations for Immigrants Impacted By Trump’s Policies

One House Democrat is calling for major accountability as President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda continues to divide migrant families as well as the rest of the nation. Wash. Rep. Pramila Jayapal is calling for federal reparations for children of immigrants impacted by the Trump administration’s controversial policies.

As part of a Congressional hearing series called “Kidnapped and Disappeared: Trump’s Attack on Children,” Rep. Jayapal stood before Congress urging members to act now. “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 on Friday (March 27).

“You talked about how there’s no support for people even once they’re released. We need to make sure that we are funding that kind of work to continue to provide relief.” As we previously reported, Trump’s mass deportation agenda has been condemned by many Americans, especially after several viral cases including that of Liam Ramos, a 5-year-old in Minneapolis detained by ICE while wearing a bunny hat and school backpack.

“They need to be brought before us and they need to be held [to] account for the trauma that they have created, and we are going to have to have some form of reparation for the kids and the families that have been traumatized through all of this,” Jayapal continued.

While she did not introduce legislation to grant reparations, the congresswoman warned that if Democrats take back control of the House during the November midterm elections, it will be one of several reform bills on her agenda. “We need real accountability, because at the end of the day, the people that have been inflicting this harm need to be prosecuted,” she said.

This wouldn’t be the first time members of Congress have called for reparations. Last year, Penn. Rep. Summer Lee introduced House Resolution 414, “Reparations Now Resolution,” which affirmed the federal government’s responsibility to provide the descendants of chattel slavery proper payment.

While no federal reparations have been issued to Black Americans, Congress has awarded reparations in the past. Notably, in 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act, giving a $20,000 cash payment and a formal apology to Japanese survivors of American internment camps during World War II.

Jayapal called for reparations for traumatized migrant families during Trump’s first term. Then, his family separation policy led to widespread criticism from the House Democrats in 2019.

Although she did not specify how these payments would be determined in 2026 or suggest a specific amount to be awarded, Jayapal’s words notably came during the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history. The Democrat is just one who has voted against funding ICE and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) under the Department of Homeland Security without significant reform and oversight of the agencies following the killing of American citizens, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, in Minneapolis.

“I have been clear since the start of the appropriations process,” Jayapal also said on Friday. “I will not vote to give Trump’s ICE or CBP another cent without major reforms.”