Social Question

rebbel's avatar

What is true about the news that I saw flashing by, about Biden "wanting to give each alien that got separated at the border half a million dollars"?

Asked by rebbel (35553points) October 31st, 2021

Was in Instagram Stories, of an American person I follow, a screen grab from a YouTube news channel.

Have you heard about it on regular news channels, or other outlets?

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50 Answers

Demosthenes's avatar

Yes, I’ve heard it, and it is true. They could get up to $450,000 per person.

Separating families was wrong, but we should not be paying non-citizens millions of dollars.

smudges's avatar

That’s outrageous and I hope it doesn’t come to pass; doubtful it will. We have American children going to bed hungry, whose brains and bodies will not develop normally, trying to learn in school with no breakfast; people who are homeless through no fault of their own; people who can’t get the help they need for dire medical issues; and the list goes on. I truly feel compassion for the families who have been torn apart, but we must take care of the people already here.

Inspired_2write's avatar

I think that instead of giving large amounts of money give them a safe and secure place to

live permanently without fear.

As in the end that was the goal in the first place by venturing long distances, half starved and

fearing for their lifelihood.

Let them live in the U.S.

And since the Government wants to pour vast amounts of money onto this situation, might as

well make them U.S. citizens and give them assitance until they are strong enough to look

after themselves and their families.

All of this was clear from the start but the U.S. was too uncertain.

The truth is doing the right thing..give them asylum!

jca2's avatar

If it’s true, I find it very upsetting.

omtatsat's avatar

Such a discriminatory word “alien”. Why don’t you call them Asylum seekers?

Dutchess_III's avatar

It bothers me too. I agree that there should be some compensation but half a million is wrong on so many levels.

I’m with @Inspired_2write. Let them stay here and give them a reasonable amount of start up money. $30,000 maybe. Help them find jobs and housing.

It’s going to become a tangled mess if they proceed.

Dutchess_III's avatar

One concern is what people who have lived in stark poverty all of their lives would DO with such a windfall? They don’t know how to manage money cuz they’ve never had any.

Inspired_2write's avatar

@Dutchess_III
The Government should have their homes assigned as well as professionals who wil advise them in all that is needed to become permanent U.S. citizens.
language barriers: Get them in English classes
Finiancial: Get Food, clothing ,Shelter arranged before hand.
Health: Get Health check and maintian their health
Education: Beside learning English can go onto learning courses ( in their native language in the meantime)
Jobs: Find suitable job placements that have a mento r( interpeter) to teach them new careers.

Dutchess_III's avatar

I already said that just in a shorter post.

Blackwater_Park's avatar

Since we are just pissing money away anyway what’s another few billion or so. If we keep this up we may as well give out Monopoly money.

jca2's avatar

It’s being negotiated according to the article, which specified:

The dollar amounts remain under discussion, but one person with knowledge of the negotiations said payouts could total $450,000 per person, with some families potentially receiving $1 million.

Therefore, I’m withholding getting mad just yet. “Could total” and “under discussion” means anything is possible, possibly less.

Dutchess_III's avatar

I need Health Insurance.

product's avatar

I’m not going to speculate on the accuracy or likelihood of such a thing happening. However, the knee-jerk reaction to pretend that doing so would somehow reduce the chances of _____, or the incorrect belief that we don’t have enough money for _____, so why would we do this is absurd.

Want health insurance? That ship has sailed. Next time a mass movement attempts to eliminate the private health insurance industry and push for single-payer, get behind that.

Want to end hunger or inequity as it currently exists for documented citizens? Try pushing back against the very institutions that create the conditions for such crimes.

We’re talking about peanuts relative to how wealth transfers work. If you’re suddenly upset about the possibility of such a thing happening, you have not been paying attention. At all.

Also, it might help to contemplate the fact that your tax money has gone to fund the creation of the conditions that cause people to flee their country for the US in the first place. We (you personally, and me) opened our wallets and paid for the destruction of someone’s country, then treat them like dogshit when they arrive (justifiably) in the US, and then start crying at the possibility of paying a few peanuts to our victims. Please, just stop.

jca2's avatar

@produt: Almost half a million dollars per person is not a few peanuts.

product's avatar

^ You paid a shitton more to create the situation. It is objectively peanuts considering all of the actual expenses you don’t seem to have any problem with.

jca2's avatar

@product: I understand your point and because I don’t post about everything I agree with or don’t agree with politically, on this site, doesn’t mean I don’t have a problem with those things. Referring to what is being discussed here, I stated my opinion and apparently it’s different than yours. That’s ok.

ragingloli's avatar

Consider it… restitution.

Blackwater_Park's avatar

The majority of Americans will work their whole life and never see that much all at once.

Nomore_lockout's avatar

Way to go Dems. Hand the Repubs the next election on a platter. If this thing goes through they can run serial killer and still win.

kritiper's avatar

I haven’t heard that. And I watch/listen to A LOT of news.
(I believe Trump’s “fake news” originated on the internet. This would be a prime example.)

kritiper's avatar

@jca2 I’ll just take your word for it.

@Inspired_2write You didn’t mention fresh water resources or other things needed for people to just move in. There is more to infrastructure than financial, health, education, and jobs.

The US does not need more people. Neither does the world as a whole. People need to understand that what the world’s problems need is a whole lot LESS people!

kritiper's avatar

Just checked out the report.
Biden “scratched his head” and ignored a reporter’s question as to the plan. Someone in his White House is talking about it, but so far it is JUST TALK..

JLeslie's avatar

I don’t believe it will happen.

There are still some children who have not been reunited with their parents. Maybe they are talking about those people? I still don’t believe they would get that much. This reminds me of surviving family members getting money if their spouse or parent died in the towers on 9/11. Although, probably most of them were citizens.

@omtastat I’m surprised we haven’t changed to a different term altogether, but alien is still used by the US government.

omtatsat's avatar

@JLeslie Yes. They (the Government) probably think that asylum seeker is much too nice an expression to use. Or maybe they have trouble spelling it.

JLeslie's avatar

@omtatsat That’s not the case. We have used the word alien since I can remember, it’s a legal term. It looks like the US ID’s don’t say alien anymore, I found this link that provides photos https://citizenpath.com/history-green-card/ so the US government has moved away from the term in part, but the legal use persists.

Here’s the Wikipedia on the term itself, it looks like the UK still uses the term too. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_(law)#United_Kingdom

I think it is changing in America. I don’t think younger generations use the term.

omtatsat's avatar

@rebbel. Wheres your link? Dont quote without a link.

jca2's avatar

@omtatsat: The first answer has a link in it, and I posted another link from NBC in the comments.

omtatsat's avatar

@jca2 I was accused of plagiarism for less.

jca2's avatar

@omtatsat: If you make a statement and it can’t be backed up with a link, that’s bad. In this case, links were easily found.

omtatsat's avatar

@jca2 Show me the link that say’s exactly this: “wanting to give each alien that got separated at the border half a million dollars”?

jca2's avatar

@omtatsat: I didn’t post the original question, but I did comment above with what the link that I found stated, about the negotiations and the possibilities. If you read the article I posted from NBC (link above) and the link the was posted by the first Jelly who answered, you’ll see.

omtatsat's avatar

@jca2 Thanks
@rebbel Show me the link where Biden say’s aliens

Dutchess_III's avatar

@omtatsat doesn’t want to discuss this issues. He only wants to swing pillows over the word “alien.”
Don’t feed the trolls.

kritiper's avatar

I have been watching the news for the past 24 hours and have seen items on CBS, NBC, and the internet and not once, NOT ONCE has anything been mentioned about this money thing. NOT ONE WORD!

Dutchess_III's avatar

@kritiper…. it’s yesterday’s (old) news.
Here is NBC

What other news site would you prefer? I’ll find you an article on that website.

jca2's avatar

@kritiper I posted the link to the NBC story in my comment above.

kritiper's avatar

Nov. 4, 2021. Report: Biden says payments to families on the border “not going to happen.”

Dutchess_III's avatar

Oh good! But they do deserve some compensation. Just not that much.

kritiper's avatar

@jca2 I don’t do links. They take too long to download and I have other things to do.

jca2's avatar

@kritiper: Your computer or your internet must be slow. I click on the link I posted and the article opens up in about two seconds.

I cut and pasted it for you. Here it is:

WASHINGTON — Thousands of migrant parents and children separated from each other at the U.S. border by Trump administration policies may soon be eligible for hundreds of thousands of dollars per person in compensation, according to three sources familiar with ongoing negotiations in a lawsuit brought on behalf of separated families.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on Thursday that the Biden administration is in talks to offer separated migrant parents and children around $450,000 per person. That would mean that if a parent and a child were separated at the border, together they would be eligible for a combined payment of $900,000.

The talks are part of negotiations between the Justice Department and lawyers representing the separated families in a number of tort cases that have claimed the families experienced harm when they were forcibly separated.

Guatemalan mother reunites with daughter 4 years after being separated at the border
JUNE 24, 202104:27
The sum total of the payments remains unknown as negotiations continue, the sources said. But if enough parents and children are located, one source said, the U.S. government could be paying out hundreds of millions of dollars to compensate these families for what they went through.

Under former President Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy in 2018, and a pilot program in 2017, more than 5,600 children were separated from their parents simply because their parents crossed the border illegally with them. Until the policy, crossing the border illegally, a misdemeanor under U.S. law, did not result in parents who crossed with children being federally prosecuted and therefore separated from their children.

The Trump administration did not have a system in place to quickly reunite the families it separated. Today, more than 1,000 families are estimated to still be separated from each other, according to the White House. In many cases the parents were deported back to their home countries while their children remained in the U.S. And, according to court records, more than 300 parents of separated children have still not been located.

Nonprofit group offers mental health services for families separated by Trump immigration policy
JUNE 9, 202108:26
“These families, particularly the young children, were deliberately traumatized by our government and deserve not only adequate compensation but the chance to remain here so they can begin to heal,” said Lee Gelernt, an attorney for the ACLU who is representing separated families in a federal lawsuit.

WHITE HOUSE
Two-thirds of U.S. workforce face Jan. 4 deadline to get vaccinated under new White House rule
The Biden administration established a task force to track down and work toward reunification for separated migrant families. So far, the task force has reunited just over 50 families. Lawyers representing those families hope many more may soon be reunited after the Biden administration agrees to allow deported parents to return to the United States on a permanent or temporary parole basis.

The payments under negotiation would go to the parents and children whether they are in the U.S. or Central America. Some lawyers worry the large influx of cash may make them targets for gangs in Central American countries.

The Justice Department declined to comment on the status of the negotiations.

Julia Ainsley
Julia Ainsley is a correspondent covering the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice for the NBC News Investigative Unit.

Jacob Soboroff
Jacob Soboroff is a correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC and author of “Separated: Inside an American Tragedy.”

kritiper's avatar

Just the other day, when asked about this subject, Biden said it was garbage. Later he said the payout was being considered but not in that exact amount.

jca2's avatar

@kritiper: Yes, that’s the most recent info. When this question was asked, it seems to have been still on the table.

kritiper's avatar

Nov. 9. Report on CBS NEWS. Matter is being left up to the justice department.

kritiper's avatar

@jca2 But not from Biden, it would seem. Certain people in the White House, yes, but not Biden himself.

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