Biden Could Give Up To $450,000 to Families Separated by Trump — PER Person
Brendan Smialowski/AFP, Getty
President Joe Biden‘s administration may pay out $1 billion or more in the form of individual payments to members of families that were separated at the U.S.-Mexico border during ex-president Donald Trump‘s administration.
Biden’s DOJ, HHS, and Homeland Security are in talks for up to $450,000 – per family member – in compensation for having been separated at the border under Trump’s “zero-tolerance” policy. The government is dealing with multiple lawsuits related to the policy, which was in place until June 2018.
The New York Times reports this week that multiple different negotiations are underway while the various departments and various lawsuits are sorted through.
In one set of negotiations, the lawyers have alleged that the United States government, including the Homeland Security Department, had wronged the families by separating parents from children, and that they should be entitled to financial compensation. In parallel negotiations, the A.C.L.U. is trying to reach a settlement with the government that would provide, among other things, a pathway to remain in the United States and social services for the families.
The Times cites their own sources, and references reporting from the Wall Street Journal, which had the story first.
The U.S. Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services are considering payments that could amount to close to $1 million a family, though the final numbers could shift, the people familiar with the matter said. Most of the families that crossed the border illegally from Mexico to seek asylum in the U.S. included one parent and one child, the people said. Many families would likely get smaller payouts, depending on their circumstances, the people said.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which represents families in one of the lawsuits, has identified about 5,500 children separated at the border over the course of the Trump administration, citing figures provided to it by the government. The number of families eligible under the potential settlement is expected to be smaller, the people said, as government officials aren’t sure how many will come forward. Around 940 claims have so far been filed by the families, the people said.
The details of the claims in those lawsuits and negotiations are what one might expect to result from family separation, to include mental health problems, trauma, and other health and emotional issues related to mental anguish and harsh conditions. The average amount sought, according to the Wall Street Journal, is approximately $3.4 million per family.
The idea behind a policy for compensation is, at least in part, that it is a more efficient and effective, and less expensive way to resolve the situation than pursuing individual litigation on dozens of separate claims.
Neither article addressed whether families separated during the Obama administration would be eligible. Under President Barack Obama, some families were separated but separation was not the policy, so it was unclear from initial reports whether eligibility would extend back under any of the proposed resolutions.
On Thursday, Republican Sen. Tom Cotton objected the potential payouts.
“The Biden administration’s promises of citizenship and entitlement programs have already caused the worst border crisis in history—a huge cash reward will make it even worse,” he said.
The Biden administration is currently in the midst of its own major border crisis, with tens of thousands of migrants at the border and entering the United States in an ongoing situation. Caravans of migrants also numbering in the thousands still headed north to the U.S.-Mexico border.
