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Joe Biden Says Families Separated at Border Won’t Be Receiving $450,000 Settlements

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Joe Biden, President of the United States is working hard with the migrant families who were separated from their homeland by the previous administration. The president stated Wednesday that the families will not receive $450,000 in compensation for their split.

The Wall Street Journal Last week, it was reported that the U.S. Department of Justice had begun to consider $450,000 in settlements for lawsuits brought by families that sued the U.S. government regarding the Trump Administration’s policy of “zero tolerance” for illegal border crossings.

These lawsuits allege that the policy—which saw the parents arrested and the children taken into custody by immigration officials, often with no plan to reunite them—led to children being housed in unsafe or unsanitary conditions, resulting in a range of negative mental and physical health impacts.

Biden strongly condemned family separations while on the campaign trail. He called the zero tolerance policy that allowed them to be “criminal” as well as running ads showing migrant children detained in immigration facilities.

On Wednesday however, Biden indicated that there is less compensation than was suggested in the news.

“$450,000 per person? Are you really saying that? At a press conference the president stated this. Politico reported. Report: “That is not going to happen.”

The Journal Noting that some Justice Department employees were already questioning the settlements of $450,000, others considered it excessive. Due to the size of the compensation, one government lawyer had his name removed.

According to estimates, 5,500 families were separated by Trump’s border wall. However, only 940 of these claimants have filed claims for compensation.

The remarks of the President yesterday were immediately condemned by Immigration Advocates.

Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), stated that if he does not follow through with what he promised, the president will abandon a key campaign promise to justice for thousands of families. “Remember President Biden’s comments about these actions in an exchange with Trump. We remind him that this was a matter of criminality and we campaign for redressing the lawlessness caused by Trump’s administration.”

Families are represented by the ACLU in one of several lawsuits brought against the government.

The Biden administration is not the only one to disappoint activists in the area of immigration.

Many of them logged off Zoom meetings with White House officials last October to discuss the Trump administration’s court-ordered revival and reintroduction of its “Remain In Mexico” policy. This requires asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while they wait for their court hearings.

Trump also has a policy under which border agents can expel illegal migrants immediately, according to the Biden administration. This is because they are a risk to the public’s health in the COVID-19 crisis. This policy was initially considered by the Trump administration to be eliminated. Since it’s implementation in March 2020 more than 1,000,000 have been expelled.

FREE MINDS

San Francisco already has these children in its vaccination passport system, even before federal approval for COVID-19 vaccines is given. Susan Philip from San Francisco, the Health Officer for San Francisco, announced Tuesday that the preexisting city requirement that all people present proof of vaccination in order to be allowed to enter public areas such as restaurants and gyms was being expanded to include children between the ages 5-11. San Francisco Chronicle

Philip stated that although the requirement would not be implemented immediately to allow families to get their children vaccinated, it was coming.

These requirements will only be in place for a short time. She said that children may need to prove their vaccinations to be allowed to use certain settings.

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), approved Pfizer’s vaccine for children aged 5-11 years.

It is already an unsound policy to require proof of vaccination in order for public employees to be admitted into public companies. COVID-19 vaccinations are a great private benefit to those who have been vaccinated. They prevent severe infections and death. These vaccines are less effective in preventing infection and transmission, so separating the vaccinated is not a good idea for public health.

Additionally, children younger than 5 years old are at the highest risk of serious COVID-19 complications. Vox The number of children who succumb to the virus was roughly equal to that of flu-related deaths, but is much lower than those who also die due the heart attack, drowning, or car accident.

FREE MARKETS

Investors worry that persistent inflation could cause the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy to be tightened.Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell assured traders on Wednesday that they would not raise rates aggressively in an effort to counter rising prices. The Wall Street Journal

This paper points out that the news did not please all investors.

Some investors think that the persistent inflation could lead to officials raising rates several more times in 2022. Near 0.5% was the highest yield for two-year U.S. Treasury bonds since March 2020. Yields tend to increase and fall in line with expectation of rate rises. Yields rise as bond prices fall….

Mohit Bajaj (director of WallachBeth Capital’s exchange-traded fund trading solutions), said that people are worried these high prices will last for longer than they have been mentioning. Stocks of rapidly-growing companies like Tesla, which are experiencing steady inflation and higher expectations could dampen investor enthusiasm. Inc. that continue to power major indexes higher, he said.

QUICK HITS

• The FDA continues to make it difficult for Americans to get their hands on rapid COVID-19 tests, a new ProPublica An investigation was conducted.

• The drug molnupiravir, a pill designed to treat COVID-19 infections, receives approval from regulators in the United Kingdom.

• New York City Mayor–elect Eric Adams wants to “revisit” the city’s vaccine mandate for municipal workers.

• Higher meat prices are leading some grocery stores to put theft prevention stickers on their chops and fillets.

• New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy appears to be able to win against Republican Jack Ciattarelli. Democrats are not pleased with the tight race in such deep blue states.

• The Democrats looking to revive the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction, an effective subsidy for higher state and local taxes, all happen to represent wealthy districts. The biggest beneficiaries from a revival in SALT are those who have higher incomes.