White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday that President Biden is 'perfectly comfortable' with cash payouts to migrant families separated at the border, but insisted the settlements won't be as high as $450,000.
Fox News' Peter Doocy asked Jean-Pierre during the briefing what Biden meant when he called the reports of payments 'garbage' after the ACLU claimed that he 'hadn't been briefed properly.
Jean-Pierre, standing in for Jen Psaki after her COVID diagnosis, responded by saying that settlements were happening, and he was responding to the claim that they could be close to half-a-million dollars.
'If it saves taxpayer dollars and puts the disastrous history of the previous administration's use of "zero tolerance" and family separation behind us, the President is perfectly comfortable with the Department of Justice settling with the individuals and families who are currently in litigation with the US government,' she said.
She wouldn't specify the amount the Biden administration would spend in the settlements and referred all other questions to the Department of Justice.
The American Civil Liberties Union tore into Biden on Wednesday night after he denied reports that his White House is planning on paying separated migrants $450,000 each or $1 million per family.
The head of the ACLU said the 78-year-old president's statement means he either hasn't been 'full briefed' on the matter or is 'abandoning' his promise to undo Donald Trump's more strict immigration laws.
'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,' ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero told Fox News.
'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. We call on President Biden to right the wrongs of this national tragedy.'
The disputed financial offerings have been heavily criticized by Republicans, who unveiled legislation on Thursday aimed at blocking the payments.
White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday that President Biden is 'perfectly comfortable' with cash payouts to migrant families separated at the border, but insisted the settlements won't be as high as $450,000
A migrant caravan is pictured in Pijijiapan, Mexico, heading north to Mexico City and en route towards the southern border
A migrant caravan headed toward Mexico City clashed with Mexico's National Guard on Thursday, leaving several people injured and arrested
A group of migrants traveling in a caravan confront members of the National Guard in the town of Pijijiapan, in Chiapas, Mexico, on November 4 2021
Many people in the caravan are likely headed for the US, Reuters reported earlier this week
The lawmakers are led by Rep. Tom McClintock of California, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship. He said the reported plan 'adds insult to injury' amid a months-long border crisis.
McClintock is introducing the bill, the Illegal Immigration Payoff Prohibition Act, and it will be co-sponsored by 137 of his GOP colleagues including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, Fox reports.
It's the first widespread effort by Republicans to stop a reported plan to pay $450,000 per person or up to $1 million per family for migrants who crossed the border illegally and were separated under Donald Trump's 'zero-tolerance' policy.
GOP lawmakers have vehemently attacked the proposal, comparing it to giving money to someone breaking into your home.
It's is meant to amend the US attorney general's power to hand out financial settlements.
If passed, Biden's Attorney General Merrick Garland would be blocked from making payments to undocumented migrants that are directly linked to them running afoul of immigration laws, including entering the country illegally.
Migrants rest in a public square as they take part in a caravan heading to Mexico City, in Pijijiapan, Mexico November 3. According to reports, many of them are hoping to reach the US southern border
Critics of the reported $450,000 payment plan have said it'll encourage more migrants to come to the US border, after record numbers of asylum-seekers were already encountered by officers since Biden took office (pictured: Migrants line up for food during a resting day, as they take part in a caravan heading to Mexico City, in Pijijiapan, Mexico November 3)
'Law-abiding, hardworking Americans have seen their purchasing power decimated by Biden’s economic policies while he has surrendered our southern border,' McClintock said in a statement obtained by Fox.
'Paying illegal immigrants $450,000 apiece as an apology for Trump’s decision to enforce our immigration law adds insult to injury. Congress has the power of the purse, and that’s why we must act today to stop this outrageous plan in its tracks.'
Yesterday Biden denied a report that his administration is giving the hefty payments and accused the media of putting out 'garbage.'
Speaking at a press conference on the authorization of COVID-19 vaccines for kids aged 5 to 11, the 78-year-old Democrat was asked by Fox News whether the reported payments 'might incentivize more people to come over illegally.'
'If you guys keep sending that garbage out, yeah,' Biden retorted. 'But it's not true.'
Fox reporter Peter Doocy asks, 'So this is a garbage report?'
Biden stood by his aggressive reaction.
'Yeah. $450,000 per person, is that what you're saying?' Biden asked. 'That's not going
