US to pay close to $1m to families separated at border: Report | Al Jazeera

The Biden administration is reportedly negotiating a plan to offer $450,000 per person to migrant families who were separated at the United States’ southern border as part of the “zero tolerance” policy of predecessor Donald Trump.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Homeland Security, the Departments of Justice, as well as Health and Human Services are considering paying what could be close to $1m per family in settlements – since most of the families separated were made up of one parent and one child.

The move, according to the report, is part of an effort to settle lawsuits on behalf of parents and children who were separated after crossing the US-Mexico border to seek asylum.

According to the WSJ, the families – 940 so far – allege that parents and children are suffering from long-lasting emotional distress, trauma and psychological harm, due to being separated, for years in many cases.