Biden administration to pay migrants separated at border millions of dollars

[Deleted member 215]

Biden admin may pay millions to migrant families separated under Trump

Under Trump's “zero tolerance” policy in 2018 and a 2017 pilot program, more than 5,600 migrant children were separated from their parents at the border.

www.nbcnews.com

Sorry, but this is a horrible idea. Separating families at the border was wrong, but this potential settlement is far too large. We should not be giving millions of dollars to non-citizens.

From a political POV, this is going to hand the Republicans the midterms.

 

[SuperMatt]

So, America can abuse children from other countries and then doesn’t need to reimburse them because they aren’t citizens?

 

[Thomas Veil]

Did you see the amount? Whether you think it's right or not, it will hand Republicans the election. Probably 2024 as well.

 

[SuperMatt]

Did you see the amount? Whether you think it's right or not, it will hand Republicans the election. Probably 2024 as well.

Formerly separated immigrant families begin process for suing Trump administration

Eight immigrant families separated at the border last year under a rescinded Trump administration policy have filed claims for millions in damages, the Associated Press reported Monday.

www.abajournal.com

Migrant families separated by U.S. sue government, demand $3 million each

Six migrant families filed multi-million dollar claims Monday against the Trump administration over last year’s family separations, saying they need the money to pay for counseling and other medical care to heal from the “torture” they said they suffered.

www.washingtontimes.com

The settlement is less than the amount sought by the wronged families.

How much would you sue for if somebody stole your children?

If the government doing the right thing means Americans vote for the Trump cult, then our country is well and truly f-ed.

 

[thekev]

The settlement is less than the amount sought by the wronged families.

Remember that you can sue for any amount. Amount sought is not meaningful unless you can indicate how this figure was reached. This doesn't seem to directly make the victims whole though. It just pays them money for prior wrongdoing.

There's no mention of funding counseling for parents or children involved. In cases of wrongfully imprisoned people, much of the compensation is based on expected earnings they would have received. In the case of victims who are involved in accidents, much of the compensation is needed to pay for ongoing medical care and lost potential earnings.

Here it's just throwing money at a problem. It'll see to the financial wellbeing of families who get their claims processed, but the resulting inflation of picking a few financial "winners" is going to really drive inflation in Honduras, which I expect will drive more immigration alongside Republican victories bringing back more of the 2016-2020 victories.

How much would you sue for if somebody stole your children?

If the government doing the right thing means Americans vote for the Trump cult, then our country is well and truly f-ed.

When you say the right thing, this needs an explanation of exactly how this makes them whole rather than just better off financially, particularly when such a settlement does nothing to prevent this in the future. CBP is still largely a rogue agency.

 

[SuperMatt]

To those saying that paying settlements to the families separated intentionally by the American government is political suicide, what do you think the DoJ should do?

Fight the lawsuits?
Offer a smaller amount? What amount do you think would be fair?
Something else?

 

[lizkat]

There are a lot of reasons to make such a settlement. Individual jury trials could end up costing the USA billions more in awards. Juries cannot be counted on not to take a dimmer view than the average right wing Republican of the suffering of children detained at our border and then shunted off to god knows where to escape the penalty of laws against sustained detention of immigrant children.

Let the Rs try to make this a 2022 issue or a 2024 issue... wtf is wrong with them anyway? Myopia?

What if it was their kid detained somewhere after some visa screw-up on a long trip with intermediate stops in several countries? Yeah, there'd be hell to pay. Their kid is special? Immigrant kid just "illegal" and of no account?

Most of the outcry about the idea of a settlement is coming from the right. I find this hypocritical in the extreme, given the extent to which the so called Christian right sends missionary teams to other countries with the expressed intent to "alleviate the suffering of the children."

But hey, now one can add the suffering of children of 2000 families disrupted at our southern border to the list of children the right has already been willing to ignore. Yeah the rural and urban children of the working poor and impoverished who were born right here in the USA, and who have been living under our noses with less attention to their human rights than the Rs insist that a fetus in a pregnant woman's uterus must receive.

So sure, let's air the issue out. Let's go to court over it all. Start with the kids of immigrant families disrupted at the border and work our way up to the question of how exactly it is that the Rs have managed for decades to suppress every progressive move the federal government has tried to implement to bring this couintry up to speed with respect to human rights of those not born with a silver spoon in their mouth.

/rant

/steps off soapbox

And now back to the World Series...

​

 

[thekev]

To those saying that paying settlements to the families separated intentionally by the American government is political suicide, what do you think the DoJ should do?

Fight the lawsuits?
Offer a smaller amount? What amount do you think would be fair?
Something else?

They're probably going to pay in some manner, but it goes back to this not being a direct remedy or a sufficient countermeasure. I would like to an enormous cleanup of the scumbag agencies (eg CBP) that made this possible.

I imagine they have some kind of precedence to look at here, but more than anything, I want to see this kind of rogue agency bullshit go away.

What if it was their kid detained somewhere after some visa screw-up on a long trip with intermediate stops in several countries? Yeah, there'd be hell to pay. Their kid is special? Immigrant kid just "illegal" and of no account?

I wonder if a proposed settlement would look similar in that case.

 

[Thomas Veil]

They're probably going to pay in some manner, but it goes back to this not being a direct remedy or a sufficient countermeasure. I would like to an enormous cleanup of the scumbag agencies (eg CBP) that made this possible.

That’s what I’d like to see, more than anything else.

As far as compensatory damages, $450,000 per case, not per person, is enough IMO. Making undocumented immigrants near-millionaires is not going to fly with 90% of the public, and that’s just the cold hard reality of it. How about getting them expedited citizenship?

 

[SuperMatt]

They're probably going to pay in some manner, but it goes back to this not being a direct remedy or a sufficient countermeasure. I would like to an enormous cleanup of the scumbag agencies (eg CBP) that made this possible.

I imagine they have some kind of precedence to look at here, but more than anything, I want to see this kind of rogue agency bullshit go away.



I wonder if a proposed settlement would look similar in that case.

Cleaning up the agencies will help in the future. It does nothing for the families whose children were literally kidnapped by the American government. And this wasn’t “rogue” activity by the agency. This policy was 100% approved by the President of the United States.

The people most angry about these payouts are the same people that saw nothing wrong with stealing a baby from its mother in the first place... as long as they are “illegals” - they had it coming In these people’s minds.

We are all human beings and nobody deserves such treatment.

 

[Eric]

This is a ridiculous amount of money, at the same time it's not even a drop in the bucket compared to what we're not taxing millionaires and billionaires. It's unnecessary waste at the highest level with misplaced priorities, to the point of being laughable. Our system is basically corrupt and broken.

 

[thekev]

Cleaning up the agencies will help in the future. It does nothing for the families whose children were literally kidnapped by the American government. And this wasn’t “rogue” activity by the agency. This policy was 100% approved by the President of the United States.

As I said, they're largely punitive damages. The money isn't a direct remedy, because it doesn't actually fund a direct solution to anything.

The people most angry about these payouts are the same people that saw nothing wrong with stealing a baby from its mother in the first place... as long as they are “illegals” - they had it coming In these people’s minds.

We are all human beings and nobody deserves such treatment.

The people who were okay with that treatment are jackasses. I would like them to realize that supporting such nonsense costs has hidden costs, which they're seeing here.

That’s what I’d like to see, more than anything else.

As far as compensatory damages, $450,000 per case, not per person, is enough IMO. Making undocumented immigrants near-millionaires is not going to fly with 90% of the public, and that’s just the cold hard reality of it. How about getting them expedited citizenship?

It still sounds high, but maybe these figures would sound normal if compared to past similar cases. I agree per person is silly. If there are enough of these going out as single payments, it's also going to have a wacky effect on some local economies.

 

[Joe]

This is stupid. This is why republicans win.

I agree they shouldn't have separated families at the border, but reunite them and send their asses back.

 

[Herdfan]

The people who were okay with that treatment are jackasses. I would like them to realize that supporting such nonsense costs has hidden costs, which they're seeing here.

So is none of the blame placed on the parents that knew what was going to happen? If I had done something I knew was wrong and my daughter was separated from me as a result, why should I be compensated for it?

 

[Eric]

So is none of the blame placed on the parents that knew what was going to happen? If I had done something I knew was wrong and my daughter was separated from me as a result, why should I be compensated for it?

There is nothing any Republican can say that will ever justify separating children from their parents, nobody with an ounce of humanity anyway.

 

[SuperMatt]

This is stupid. This is why republicans win.

I agree they shouldn't have separated families at the border, but reunite them and send their asses back.

If you had your child taken from you by force, I bet you’d be a lot less forgiving. But nobody has any sympathy for immigrants, especially ones with dark skin.

Also, the lie that all these people were “illegals"... many of them had legitimate asylum claims and they were being held while those claims were waiting on their court date.

I guess xenophobia is rampant among Democrats too. Certainly explains why the immigration reforms are always the first thing to be thrown out when a new Democrat-led congress convenes.

 

[SuperMatt]

So is none of the blame placed on the parents that knew what was going to happen? If I had done something I knew was wrong and my daughter was separated from me as a result, why should I be compensated for it?

Um.... separating kids from their parents and locking them in cages is a punishment TO THE KIDS! Should we punish kids for all offenses committed by their parents now? Or just of immigrants? I can see it now: Citizen caught speeding: here’s a ticket. Immigrant caught speeding: we take your kid and send them to a random prison and don’t tell you where.

Illegally crossing the border is a misdemeanor. Stealing somebody’s child from them is not one of the penalties mentioned in the law. Imagine if stealing children was the penalty for all misdemeanors.

Trump’s policy was pure evil. End of story. Take somebody’s child away and you’re lucky if suing you is the worst they do to you.

 

[Joe]

Um.... separating kids from their parents and locking them in cages is a punishment TO THE KIDS! Should we punish kids for all offenses committed by their parents now? Or just of immigrants? I can see it now: Citizen caught speeding: here’s a ticket. Immigrant caught speeding: we take your kid and send them to a random prison and don’t tell you where.

Illegally crossing the border is a misdemeanor. Stealing somebody’s child from them is not one of the penalties mentioned in the law. Imagine if stealing children was the penalty for all misdemeanors.

Trump’s policy was pure evil. End of story. Take somebody’s child away and you’re lucky if suing you is the worst they do to you.

If they were US citizens, then yes. Illegal immigrants, no.

Some of y'all are too nice. This is why Republicans walk all over democrats.

 

[SuperMatt]

If they were US citizens, then yes. Illegal immigrants, no.

Some of y'all are too nice. This is why Republicans walk all over democrats.

So, you are ok with punishing children if their parents are illegal immigrants. Well then, vote Trump 2024.

 

[Joe]

So, you are ok with punishing children if their parents are illegal immigrants. Well then, vote Trump 2024.

I said above that they should not have been separated at the border. I am not for punishing children. Reunite them, but don't reward them with millions of dollars.