Source: Nworeport

The American Civil Liberties Union countered President Biden’s claim that his Administration is not considering payments of up to $450,000 to illegal immigrants who had been separated from their families under the previous Administration.

Biden had stated that the story was “garbage” in response to a question from Fox News’ Peter Doocy on Wednesday.

“Mr. President, as you’re leaving for your overseas trip, there were reports that were surfacing that your administration is planning to pay illegal immigrants who are separated from their families at the border,” Doocy stated. “Up to $450,000 each, possibly a million dollars per family. Do you think that that might incentivize more people to come over illegally?”

“If you guys keep sending that garbage out? Yeah, but it’s not true,” Biden fired back.

“So this is a garbage report?” Doocy asked.

“Yeah, OK,” Biden replied. “That’s not going to happen.”

Yet ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero told Fox News that the plan is very much in the works.

“President Biden may not have been fully briefed about the actions of his very own Justice Department as

it carefully deliberated and considered the crimes committed against thousands of families separated from their children as an intentional governmental policy,” Romero announced.

“But if he follows through on what he said, the president is abandoning a core campaign promise to do justice for the thousands of separated families,” he proceeded. “We respectfully remind President Biden that he called these actions’ criminal’ in a debate with then-President Trump and campaigned on remedying and rectifying the lawlessness of the Trump administration. We call on President Biden to right the wrongs of this national tragedy.”

The total amount paid could reach close to $1 billion to settle lawsuits filed over the separations. These separations drew public outcry because children were housed apart from their parents.

Family units were separated under then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ April 2018 “zero tolerance” policy prosecuting all adults who illegally cross the border. Trump signed an order to end family separations in June 2018 after backlash.

Payouts to illegal immigrant families would not be the first controversial legal settlement agreed to by the Biden Administration.

Last month, the Justice Department agreed to restore former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s pension and pay him $200,000 in missed benefits and $540,000 in attorney fees.

McCabe was dismissed in 2018 at the urging of the FBI’s nonpartisan Office of Professional Responsibility after he supposedly lied to FBI agents, the Justice Department Inspector General’s Office, and former FBI Director James Comey about authorizing a leak to the media regarding an inquiry of the Clinton Foundation. He was not prosecuted, even though lying to the FBI carries up to five years in prison.