The Biden administration is considering paying out a whopping $450,000 per person to families separated at the southern border as it tries to settle lawsuits with migrants who say the policy caused them lasting psychological damage.
Officials from the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services are considering the payments that could total close to $1 million for two people within the same family, people familiar told the Wall Street Journal.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which represents separated families, has identified approximately 5,500 children who were separated from their parents at the border during Trump’s Trump-era policy.
The policy was first enacted by the Trump administration in April 2018. It was then repealed two months later, following much controversy in June.
The total payout could reach $1 billion or more.
The ‘zero tolerance policy’ was applied to families who illegally crossed US-Mexico borders to claim asylum. The government found that the children and their parents could not be detained together, so the families were often separated. Sometimes, there was no way to track down and reunite them later.
The Biden administration is looking at paying $450,000 per family to families separated at South Border.
Officials from the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services are looking into payments that could reach close to $1million for two people in the same family.
Many families are now allowed into the US interior and asked for a court appearance at a later date. Title 42, which is the coronavirus public policy for health, deports some of them.
Lawsuits claim that the children who were separated were placed in poor housing and were often malnourished or exhausted from heat. They were also kept in cold rooms and provided little medical care. The families’ lawyers claim that the children suffered severe trauma from the anxiety of not having their parents around.
According to the WSJ, they seek a range in payouts, with a family average of $3.4 million.
Under the Biden administration, many families are released into the interior of the US and asked to appear in court at a later date
Some are deported in accordance with Title 42, the coronavirus policy of public health
The Biden administration repeatedly condemned the policy as cruel and inhumane, and promised to reunite families that are still separated.
Earlier this month, Michelle Brane, head of the Family Reunification Task Force, said that the Biden team had only been able to reunite 52 of the over 1,000 families separated under the policy who have not yet found each other.
Brane said that more than 1,000 people, between 1,000 and 1,500, may be separated. Brane spoke on CBS’ 60 Minutes Oct. 12. It’s difficult to know, because there is no record.
She said, “So there’s no place to go to find who was separated or not.” It’s a case-bycase detective work.
According to reports, the task force is currently reuniting 200 more.
Reunited families receive a three-year grant for parole that allows them to legally live and work in the US for that time, but not to become citizens.
Lawyers representing both the families as well as the government said they are working on settlements, and that they hope to have them completed by the end November.
Some government lawyers are outraged by the proposed payments, which they consider excessive for people who have knowingly broken the law by crossing the border. One government lawyer threatened to withdraw his name from the case as a protest against the settlement offer.
One government lawyer stated that the payouts could exceed the amount the government paid to families of 9/11 victims. Another disagreed with that comparison, noting that the US government was not directly responsible for 9/11. According to the paper, payouts averaged $2million per family and were tax-free.
In the 2021 fiscal years ending Sept. 30, record 1.7million families tried to illegally enter the US. This was an increase from the 2000 record of 1.6 million. There were more than 479,000 families and 147,000 unaccompanied children.
Nevertheless, Republicans quickly condemned the report.
“I nearly fell out of bed when I read this. I hope this is not the case. This would be an OUTRAGE,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).
‘UNACCEPTABLE’ Report states that Biden admin is considering payments of 450k to 2 persons who crossed the border ILLEGALLY. Those are taxpayers money. Senator Chuck Grassley, R.Iowa, posted on Twitter.
Joe Biden wants to raise taxes but give $450,000 to illegal aliens. Rep. Ken Buck, R.Colo., stated that Biden is “putting America last.”
‘Under @POTUS @JoeBiden: Pay more for #gasoline, #groceries, home heating, & everyday living necessities,’ Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, wrote on Twitter.
Joe Biden gave Americans $1300, but he wants to give illegal immigrants $450,000. This is more than the 9/11 victims compensation fund. In the face of rising inflation, this is how Biden wants to spend your money. Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo. wrote on Twitter: “Priorities.”
