Biden: Migrant families separated under Trump 'deserve' compensation
By Brett Samuels - 11/06/21 10:41 AM EDT
President Biden on Saturday forcefully supported the idea to compensate migrant families separated under the Trump administration's zero-tolerance immigration policy, clarifying that his issue days earlier was with the dollar amount that had been reported.
"Now here’s the thing. If in fact, because of the outrageous behavior of the last administration, you coming across the border, whether it was legal or illegal, and you lost your child," Biden said, wagging a finger and raising his voice. "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."
Biden's impassioned comments came during a press conference on the passage of a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. He was questioned about his remarks earlier in the week when he was asked about reports that his administration was preparing to pay separated families up to $450,000 per individual, which Biden said was "not gonna happen."
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The president on Saturday said he was specifically referring to the dollar amount that had been reported, not the concept of compensating separated families entirely.
The payments would come as part of settlements with separated families who are suing the government over treatment during the Trump era. Under the zero-tolerance policy, thousands of children were separated from their parents and placed in shelters while the adults were prosecuted.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/580384-biden-migrant-families-separated-under-trump-deserve-some-kind-of
