Biden Considers Paying $450,000 To Family Members Separated At Southern Border

President Joe Biden is considering paying immigrant families who were separated at the southern border around $450,000 a person, or around $1 million a family.

While negotiations between the Biden administration and lawyers representing the families might not be over until the end of November, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the potential settlements could be much smaller. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) identified about 5,500 children that were separated at the border while the Trump administration's “zero-tolerance” enforcement policy was in effect. Over 940 families have reportedly filed lawsuits that claim the government subjected children to lasting psychological trauma, heat exhaustion and malnutrition.

The report was prominently covered across the spectrum. Right-rated outlets were more likely to display pictures of border patrol members detaining "illegal immigrants," while left-rated outlets tended to highlight portraits of "undocumented immigrants" that were separated from their families at the border. Right-rated outlets also emphasized how 45 Republican lawmakers sent a letter to the Biden administration "slamming the disastrous payouts" and that "the cost to taxpayers could approach $1 billion." Left-rated outlets criticized Trump's family separation policy, where "Border Patrol agents criminally charged parents with illegally entering the United States" and imprisoned them.