{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://bergman.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=949", "Bergman: Support Angel Families, Don\u2019t Pay Illegal Immigrants", "2021-11-23", "2021", "2021-11", "Republican", "House", "MI", "Jack Bergman", "B001301", "bergman.house.gov", "bergman", "https://bergman.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx", "scraper", "Today, Rep. Jack Bergman and 18 of his Republican House colleagues sent a letter to the Biden Administration condemning its plans for massive payouts to illegal immigrants and instead requesting compensation for Angel Families and other American victims of the federal government\u2019s failure to enforce our Nation\u2019s immigration laws.\n\nEarlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported on the U.S. Departments of Justice (DOJ), Homeland Security (DHS), and Health and Human Services (HHS) considering payments of $450,000 per person, or close to $1 million per family, to those who illegally crossed the U.S. southern border and were being prosecuted under the law.\n\nSuch policies only incentivize increased border crossings and more instances of dangerous criminals being released into our local communities \u2013 and it is American citizens who pay the consequences.\n\nRep. Bergman and his colleagues condemned the administration\u2019s plans and urged President Biden to instead compensate Americans harmed by these failed border policies.\n\nAdvocates for Victims of Illegal Alien Crime (AVIAC) President Don Rosenberg said, \"Our families have been destroyed. We will never see our loved ones again, and if we speak out, we\u2019re either ignored or called racists and white supremacists. Illegal aliens are legally separated from their children for a brief time, and they are rewarded with settlements in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. That is obscene.\"\n\nYou can read the full letter here and below.\n\nThis effort has been supported by NumbersUSA and Advocates for Victims of Illegal Alien Crime (AVIAC).\n\n--\n\nDear Attorney General Garland, Secretary Mayorkas, and Secretary Becerra:\n\nIn the wake of reports regarding your three agencies\u2019 plans for $450,000 per person payouts to illegal immigrants, we urge you to condemn this idea and instead consider a way to compensate Angel Families and other victims for their suffering and loss of loved ones due to reckless open border policies, such as those advanced by the Biden Administration and its neglect of our nation\u2019s border laws.\n\nCrossing the border illegally should never be rewarded, but the Biden Administration has incessantly pursued border policies that incentivize mass illegal immigration. We\u2019re experiencing record illegal crossings due to the President\u2019s open borders rhetoric, pursuit of mass amnesty, and attacks on successful policies like construction of the border wall or \u201cRemain-in-Mexico.\u201d But your proposed payments to those who willfully break our laws represents the most radical, morally bankrupt, and wasteful idea of them all. In fact, it is a slap in the face to Angel Families.\n\nAngel Families are those that have lost family members to illegal immigrants, and they\u2019re becoming all too common due to the gravely mishandled border crisis. When you welcome a border surge and simultaneously withhold the resources and authorities to manage and vet illegal immigrants, you also allow dangerous criminals into our communities. Many of these deadly acts were entirely avoidable because they were committed by deportable immigrants and immigrants who were released from federal custody into the interior.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:30:49Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://bergman.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=949"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6410800851881504, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}