DOJ exits negotiations to pay out migrant families separated at border

The Biden Justice Department withdrew from settlement negotiations to end lawsuits filed on behalf of parents and children who were separated at the border under the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance border policy, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced on Thursday.

The announcement came after Republican lawmakers expressed outrage over reports that showed the Biden administration was considering settling the case with payments upwards of $450,000, The Hill reported. 

“After our government deliberately abused young children by separating them from their families, today they've walked away from negotiations to help those who were traumatized heal,” the ACLU tweeted Thursday.

“Candidate Biden promised to help these children and families. But today, President Biden is shamefully playing politics with their lives and futures. We will never forget who takes action to help these families — and who turns their backs on them.”

In 2018, some 2,800 families were separated along the border. While some were reunited, another 550 children were not reconnected with their parents and were ultimately placed with other family members, family friends, foster families or at government run shelters.

According to data obtained by Axios in September, the U.S. government has lost contact with thousands of migrant children released from its custody – and roughly one-in-three calls made to released migrant kids or their sponsors between January and May went unanswered.

But President Biden has repeatedly denied the $450,000 figure, which was one of several being discussed during the negotiations.

“It’s not going to happen,” he told reporters in October.

Many Republicans viewed the payments as “payouts,” and Sen. Marsha Blackburn insisted the U.S. should not give money to individuals who attempted to enter the country illegally.

“Joe Biden wants to pay illegal immigrants $450,000 while Americans struggle to make ends meet in his inflated economy,” she wrote on Twitter in October.

Although the Justice Department has ended negotiations, the ACLU and its litigation partners are expected to appeal their demands in court.