Joe Biden’s Department of Justice is said to be negotiating a legal settlement that could give illegal immigrants $450,000 per person – $900,000 for a father and child – if their families are separated during the height of Donald Trump’s 2018 crackdown on illegal border crossings. This is a scandalous gift that will reward lawbreakers and enrich activist lawyers.
There is nothing wrong with settling these issues, but the scale of the rewards is very exaggerated. The $900,000 is more than double the $400,000 paid to the families of American soldiers killed in the war. It’s more than some families of 9/11 victims received. This, for people who knowingly break the law.
With nearly a thousand claimants lined up already and more confident showing up for a payday of this magnitude, the tab could cross $1 billion.
Why so much of our money? In a lawsuit, if you think you are wrong, you should be willing to settle. But compromise is a compromise. Both sides look at their chances of losing at trial, and look at how big the verdict might be. A good settlement drops the potential judgment through the odds of loss and the money each side saves by not going to court.
Biden’s lawyers are acting as if these cases are so lost that they should just present a blank check without a real opponent to settle.
why? Trump’s “zero tolerance” policies were widely criticized for being unduly harsh in enforcing the laws on the books, and even many Republicans thought family separation went too far. That’s why Trump reversed his policy after a month of controversy.
But even many critics recognized that the laws on the books allowed Trump to charge illegal border-crossers with crimes. As a result, those detained for their crimes are separated from their children. A 1997 federal court settlement restricted the government’s legal options in ways that made it difficult for children to be confined with their parents. Not only can the government argue that it acted lawfully, but the parents themselves created the situation by breaking the law.
Lawyers who have brought the cases, including the ACLU, know that there will be challenges to prove their case and more challenges to prove that their clients have suffered nearly a million dollars in emotional distress resulting from a family separation. They are also demanding a “track to stay in the country”, and they should be willing to concede their demands for money if they get that too.
Why rush to give them everything they ask for? Because the White House does not want to be criticized by progressives for their legitimate fight for taxpayers while the ACLU is litigating the press. Shame on Joe Biden.
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