Rep. Graves Introduces Bill to Stop Payments to Illegal Immigrants

WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 -- Rep. Sam Graves, R-Missouri, issued the following news release on Nov. 4, 2021:

Congressman Graves joined 146 of his Republican colleagues in introducing the Illegal Immigrant Payoff Prohibition Act to ban the Biden Administration from making settlement payments to illegal immigrants for claims arising from their illegal entry. The legislation comes on the heels of a bombshell Wall Street Journal expose that revealed the Biden Administration was mulling over making $450,000 payments to some illegal immigrants. Yesterday, President Biden denied they payments were even being considered, but today a White House spokesperson said the President is "perfectly comfortable" with the payments.

"This bill will put this bad idea to bed once and for all," Graves said. "We shouldn't be rewarding illegal immigrants for breaking the law and we certainly shouldn't be handing them half-million-dollar payments. That's a slap in the face to working American families and the fallen heroes who have fought and died to protect this country."

For reference, the median household income in the United States is just $68,703, meaning it would take the average American family more than 6 and a half years to earn the $450,000 the Biden Administration is considering paying some illegal immigrants. That payment amount is also $50,000 more than a servicemember's next of kin receives under the Servicemembers Group Life Insurance (SGLI) program when a servicemember is killed in action. It could also surpass the payments to made to some families of 9/11 victims.

Graves joined 43 of his colleagues in writing the Biden Administration last week to condemn the plan.

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October 29, 2021

To: The Honorable Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary, United States Department of Homeland Security, 2707 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20528

The Honorable Xavier Becerra, Secretary, United States Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20201

The Honorable Merrick Garland, Attorney General, United States Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20530

Dear Secretary Mayorkas, Attorney General Garland, and Secretary Becerra:

We write today with severe concerns regarding recent reports that your three agencies are in discussions to offer illegal immigrants that unlawfully crossed the U.S. border in 2018 roughly $450,000 per person in compensation. The rationale for this egregious abuse of taxpayer dollars is to compensate these persons for "lasting psychological trauma."/1 Do, however, note that these persons crossed into our country in a knowingly illegal manner, fully aware of the consequences of violating our rule of law.

Actions have consequences, especially illegal actions made consciously. We are a nation of laws, and our laws must be enforced. Promising tens of thousands of dollars to those who unlawfully entered the United States would not only reward criminal behavior, but it would surely send a message to the world that our borders are open, and or rule of law will not be enforced.

The Biden Administration has been incentivizing illegal immigration since its first day in office through a series of catastrophic failures, including: stopping construction of the border wall, halting the Remain-in-Mexico policy, and rolling back former President Trump's commonsense border protections that kept our nation safe. Now, under President Biden, we are witnessing the worst border numbers in a generation, and the worst self-inflicted border crisis in history.

If your Administration decides to give out financial compensation to thousands of illegal immigrants in the amount of roughly one half of a million dollars, you will unilaterally incentivize migrants from more than 150 nations across the world to surge our border.

According to recent CBP data, more than 1.7 million illegal immigrants have attempted to cross our border in FY 21 alone, with projections of 2 million more before the end of this year. The U.S. Border Patrol reported nearly 200,000 encounters with migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border earlier this summer in July; this was the highest monthly total in more than two decades./2

Compensating families who crossed our border illegally and knowingly will certainly exacerbate the greatest immigration and border security crisis that our nation has ever seen historically. This is in addition to the signal this sends to Cartels seeking to take advantage of illegal crossings however possible.

Frankly, this disastrous policy will cue migrants across the border that they are not only welcome to enter the country illegally, but they are encouraged to do so as they will benefit financially from ignoring our rule of law. Paying thousands of illegal migrants half a million dollars each could quickly cost American taxpayers up to one billion dollars or more.

Compare this hefty compensation sum to the 2019 average median American household annual income of $68,703. Furthermore, compare it to the maximum payout from a SGLI life insurance policy for military members, which is $400,000. The idea that we would give illegal foreigners who broke the law a check that exceeds the amount that our government supplies to our valiant and heroic Gold Star Families is shameful, reprehensible, and morally indignant.

At a time when the American household is dealing with historic rates of inflation and the price of average consumer goods - groceries, gasoline, and heating - have risen exponentially, it's shocking that our government is considering rewarding illegal activity for purely political reasons. Why is this potential compensation for families separated in 2018 under the previous administration and not those separated between 2008-2016 or since 2021?

Additionally, this compensation will cost billions of dollars if enacted. This is money that could be better spent on curbing illegal immigration during our current crisis, long-term investments for national defense as our adversaries improve, reforms to our education system, and infrastructure investment to fix crumbling bridges, roads, and broadband lines.

As Members of Congress, we are extremely alarmed that this misguided policy shows that the Administration wants to treat illegal immigrants better than law-abiding citizens who create families and contribute to our economy through hard, legal work. We are the country of the strong and the brave, not the country of exploitation and shortcuts.

The Constitution reads "We the People" not "We the Government." As humbly elected representatives of the American people, we urge your agencies to not only reconsider this horrific decision but also rescind any potential action to this effect.

We pray that you heed our concerns and respond as soon as humanly possible. The future of our country's reputation, border security, and national security depend on better policymaking. We are more than able to meet to discuss this urgent travesty.

Thank you for your consideration, and we look forward to your prompt response.

View co-signers at https://graves.house.gov/sites/graves.house.gov/files/GM%2010.29.21%20Letter%20on%20Illegal%20Immigrant%20Compensation%20FINAL.docx.pdf

Footnotes:

1/ https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-administration-in-talks-to-pay-hundreds-of-millions-to-immigrant-families-separated-at-border-11635447591?mod=politics_lead_pos10

2/ https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/08/13/migrant-encounters-at-u-s-mexico-border-are-at-a-21-year-high/