DOJ ends talks over compensating families separated at border

carleyshaffer1December 16, 2021

YUMA, ARIZONA – DECEMBER 07: A Cuban mother and daughter watch the sunrise while waiting to be being taken into custody by U.S. Border Patrol agents at the U.S.-Mexico border on December 07, 2021 in Yuma, Arizona. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 4:45 PM PT – Thursday, December 16, 2021

The Department of Justice confirmed the U.S. government will not be compensating families separated at the border.

On Thursday, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union announced the DOJ’s decision to call off the settlements. The Biden administration previously floated paying separated family members a whopping $450,000 each in compensation.

The Justice Department informed lawyers representing families they won’t be offering global settlements for any cases and would defend each case in court. Meanwhile, DOJ officials said settlements are still possible despite withdrawing from any global settlement talks.

This comes after a surge in migrants at the southern border continue to overwhelm law enforcement officers in Arizona.

130+ in 1 group. Part of the 900+ arrests DRT had for the day (men, women, children… from around the world). Think of the logistics and resources needed to process & care for that population

Our resources are finite. We need them for our mission. Border Security is our mission pic.twitter.com/cJKsMJAQi8

— Chief Patrol Agent Jason D. Owens (@USBPChiefDRT) December 9, 2021

Reports on Wednesday said more than 6,000 people crossed through Yuma last week, including hundreds of migrants from Haiti. Hundreds of those apprehended by agents have been reportedly crossing through a gap in the unfinished border wall, which was a key Trump-era project that Joe Biden halted.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, around 22,000 migrants were apprehended crossing the border in Yuma back in October, showing a 1,200 percent spike from January.