Biden Dismisses Idea Of Paying $450,000 To Immigrant Families Separated At Border
Summary from the AllSides News Team
President Joe Biden on Wednesday dismissed a report from The Wall Street Journal that suggested his administration is considering paying immigrant families who were separated at the southern border around $450,000 a person, calling the story "garbage" and saying "that's not gonna happen." A White House spokeswoman later clarified that the president is “perfectly comfortable” with paying immigrant families, emphasizing that he was reacting to the $450,000 figure listed in the report. She also highlighted how the Department of Justice made it "clear to the plaintiffs that the reported figures are higher than anywhere that a settlement can land.” Meanwhile, House Republicans introduced a bill Thursday that would block the Biden Administration from following through on the aforementioned payouts. As of now, an estimated 940 claims have been filed by immigrant families who were separated at the border during the Trump administration.
Biden's comments were prominently covered across the spectrum. Some reports cited the statement from ACLU executive director Anthony D. Romero, who suggested Biden "may not have been fully briefed about the actions of his very own Justice Department." Left-rated outlets were more likely to highlight reports that detailed the "inconsolable crying" and "confusion" of children when they were separated from their parents. Right-rated outlets were more likely to emphasize how the news "drew outrage" from many Republicans such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who called the payouts a "slap in the face" to Americans.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Right
WH: Biden now ‘perfectly comfortable’ with migrant payouts — after calling $450K report ‘garbage’President Biden is “perfectly comfortable” with cash payouts to migrant families whose members were detained separately after illegally crossing the US-Mexico border, White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday.
The answer comes just a day after Biden labeled as “garbage” a report that his administration is considering $450,000-per-person payments.
Jean-Pierre pointedly pivoted Biden’s assessment after the American Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday night said Biden “may not have been fully briefed about the actions of his very own Justice Department.”
“If it saves taxpayer dollars and puts the disastrous history of the previous...
From the Left
Biden Rejects $450,000 Payments for Separated MigrantsPresident Biden on Wednesday said migrants separated from family members at the border would not receive hundreds of thousands of dollars for the damage inflicted by the Trump-era policy, rejecting an option for monetary compensation that had been floated in negotiations with lawyers representing the families.
Representatives of the migrant families and government officials had discussed giving families $450,000 for each member affected by former President Donald J. Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy, which led to the separation of about 5,500 children from their parents, according to people familiar with the matter. But...
From the Center
Biden Denies Plan For $450,000 Payments To Separated Families: 'Not Gonna Happen'President Joe Biden dismissed a “garbage” Wall Street Journal report from last week that alleged his administration was considering paying about $450,000 to each individual separated from their family at the U.S.-Mexico border, saying that the purported plan to settle several lawsuits filed against the federal government on behalf of the immigrants was not under consideration.
After a Fox News reporter asked about the reported payments in a Wednesday press conference, Biden called the WSJ report that cited several anonymous sources “garbage” and “not true.”
Biden didn’t entirely deny that a settlement was in the works though, continuing, “$450,000 per...
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