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On Wednesday, President Joe Biden dismissed the idea of giving $450,000 settlements to immigrant families who were separated at the U.S.-Mexico border. “That’s not going to happen,” Biden said. Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House’s principal deputy press secretary, said on Thursday that Biden was “perfectly comfortable” reimbursing the families, but not at that level. She added that the Justice Department spoke to those involved in the negotiations and learned “the reported figures are higher than anywhere that a settlement can land.” American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Anthony Romero said Biden risked “abandoning a core campaign promise to do justice for the thousands of separated families.” Politico
In other federal immigration news…
Parents of 270 Children Separated at Border Haven’t Been Found
According to a federal court filing, attorneys are still locating parents of 270 children who were separated at the southern border during the Trump administration. The filing is from the Justice Department and the ACLU and is part of an effort to reunite families who were under the zero-tolerance policy. The parents of 33 migrant children have been found since September. According to the filing, the Biden administration has reunited 58 children with their parents in the U.S. since it created the family reunification task force. CNN
House Debates Biden’s Bill
The U.S. House on Friday passed the revised draft of Biden’s now-$1.85 trillion domestic policy package, which added a new paid family leave program, work permits for immigrants and adjustments to state and local tax deductions. The immigration provision would design a new program for roughly 7 million immigrants who are undocumented and would allow them to apply for permits to work and travel in the U.S. for five years. Biden put aside $100 billion to fund immigration changes, which caused the overall package to jump from $1.75 trillion to $1.85 trillion. Those involved said lawmakers plan to make their case to the Senate parliamentarian and hope the changes will come under Senate rules. The Associated Press