House Dems block consideration of bill to prevent taxpayers from paying $450k to illegal immigrants

House Democrats have blocked consideration of bill that would have prevented taxpayers from paying $450,000 to illegal immigrants as part of a settlement with parents who were allegedly separated from their children at the U.S.-Mexico border under the Trump administration.

The bill, the Illegal Immigration Payoff Prohibition Act, introduced by California GOP Rep. Tom McClintock, would stop the U.S. Attorney General from using taxpayer funds to make settlement payments to anyone who violated U.S. immigration laws. McClintock has almost 150 co-sponsors on the bill.

The possibly of the payments as part of a settlement with illegal immigrants was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

"Instead of solving the Biden border crisis, Democrats want to literally pay people to break our laws," said a spokesperson for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

There were 221 Democrats who voted Friday evening to block consideration of McClintock's bill by "advancing the previous question" on the House floor, according to the spokesperson.