President Joe Biden says families separated at the border under Trump won’t receive $450,000

Negotiations are ongoing and it’s unknown what the final figure will be, the source familiar with the matter told CNN at the time, noting that different numbers have been discussed at various times. Financial compensation would likely vary and not all would get the maximum agreed-upon amount.

In a statement Wednesday, ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero said Biden must right the wrongs of the Trump administration.

“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 against thousands of families separated from their children as an intentional governmental policy,” Romero said. “But if he follows through on what he said, the president is abandoning a core campaign promise to do justice for the thousands of separated families. We respectfully remind President Biden that he called these actions ‘criminal’ in a debate with then-President Trump, and campaigned on remedying and rectifying the lawlessness of the Trump administration.”

Outside groups and a government watchdog have found over the years that children separated from their families under the policy experienced trauma. A 2019 Health and Human Services inspector general report included accounts of facility staff detailing the inconsolable crying of children when they were separated, the kids’ confusion and belief they had been abandoned by their parents.