In less than 24 hours, President Biden has flip-flopped on his view of the Department of Justice financially compensating illegal aliens who were “separated” from their families after they were caught trying to enter the country unlawfully during the Trump administration. On Wednesday, President Biden called reports that his administration was on the verge of making these illegal aliens millionaires “garbage”. By Thursday, Biden’s deputy press secretary reversed, saying “the President is perfectly comfortable with [DOJ] settling with the individuals and families who are currently in litigation with the U.S. government.”
At issue is last week’s stunning Wall Street Journal report that the Biden administration was on the verge of giving each illegal alien member of a family unit “separated” under President Trump’s short-lived 2018 "Zero Tolerance" policy $450,000. Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre “clarified” Biden’s position that he was “reacting to . . . the dollar figure that was mentioned”, meaning the $450,000 per illegal alien. Jean-Pierre refused to answer what dollar amount the president is comfortable giving these illegal aliens. As a reminder, illegal entry is both a civil offense under section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and a criminal offense under section 275(a) of the INA.
To understand Biden’s quick reversal, look no further than the statement released by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) after the president appeared to pour cold water on the settlements. The executive director of the supposedly "non-profit and non-partisan" organization blasted out the following statement: “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 [sic] against thousands of families separated from their children as an intentional governmental policy.”
Is there any doubt that Biden is not calling the shots in his own administration?
Far from “garbage”, the Journal report was well-sourced and it is clear from reading the article that those settlement documents not only exist but that even some career DOJ attorneys involved in the litigation raised objections to the political leadership team, pointing out that these illegal aliens would receive more money than the families of some 9/11 victims and the families of our fallen troops. Ronald Mortensen also pointed out that “downwinders”, Americans sickened by above-ground nuclear tests, got “a pittance while illegals stand to profit handsomely.”
That pungent aroma coming out of Washington is not the Journal article, but the efforts by the Biden administration to financially reward law-breakers. To paraphrase Field of Dreams, if you pay them, they will come.