Senior White House adviser Cedric Richmond said on Sunday that whether immigrant families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border under the Trump administration receive monetary settlements — and how much — will be up to the Justice Department to decide.
Richmond’s comments follow remarks made by President Biden that were in response to suggested $450,000 payments to families whose children were lost at the border. Their lawyers allege the U.S. government had wronged these separated families and that they were entitled to compensation.
On Wednesday Biden refuted the allegations by a reporter that families were to receive $450,000, saying it “was not going to happen.” Biden later clarified that he was objecting to the amount reported.
A Fox News reporter suggested that the payments would incentivize further illegal border crossings.