President Joe Biden backed the concept of the US government paying immigrant families who were separated at the border as a result of the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance policy" on Saturday.
The President of United States, Joe Biden, seen during the first day of the summit. The G20 Summit of Head of States in La Nuvola centre, lead by the Italian Prime Minister, Mario Draghi.
Biden Supports Compensating Separated Migrants
In a recently published article in The Hill, President Biden endorsed the notion of compensating migrant families separated by the Trump administration's zero-tolerance immigration policy on Saturday, emphasizing that his objection had been to the stated cash figure.
The Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy, in which the Justice Department began criminal prosecutions of every adult unlawfully crossing the border, was announced in 2018 but was quickly abandoned due to overwhelming resistance. Because children cannot be held in federal custody alongside their parents, the policy led to the separation of thousands of families, including some with newborns as young as a few months old.
Biden said, "Now here's the thing. If in fact because of the outrageous behavior of the last administration, you came across the border, whether it was legal or illegal, and you lost your child. You lost your child. It's gone. You deserve some kind of compensation, no matter what the circumstance. What that will be, I have no idea," according to a published report in CNN News.
Read Also: Joe Biden Denies Paying $450,000 Each Separated Immigrant Families for Breaking the Law
Biden Clarified the Amount Each Migrant Would Receive
When asked about claims that his government was planning to compensate separated migrant families of $450,000 per person up to $1 million per family, Biden responded it was "not going to happen," A response Biden made after a series of reports that his administration will pay the said amount.
On Saturday, the president clarified that he was talking to the reported financial number, not the notion of fully paying separated families. Until now, Biden or any members of his administration did not yet give any comments on how much they will pay, according to a published article in VOA News.
The funds would come from settlements with separated families who had sued the government over treatment during Trump's presidency. Thousands of children were removed from their parents and put in shelters due to the zero-tolerance policy, while the adults were prosecuted.
White House Willing To Settle Out To Court
According to court records in a federal complaint in San Diego, over 5,500 children were separated from their parents under President Donald Trump's "zero tolerance" policy, in which parents were separated from their children to face criminal prosecution for crossing the border illegally.
White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that the president is perfectly comfortable with the Department of Justice settling with the individuals and families who are currently in litigation with the United States government if it saves taxpayer dollars and puts the disastrous history of the previous administration's use of zero tolerance and family separation behind them.
Republican legislators have blasted the Biden administration over allegations of possible payments. However, some legal experts warned a news site that settling with the families might be less expensive than allowing the cases to go to court, where further facts about the government's harsh treatment of refugees could surface.
Related Article: Biden Administration Considering To Pay $1 Million Per Migrant Family Separated at the Southern US Border During Trump's Administration
