Biden Administration Promises Benefits And Path To Asylum To Migrant Families Separated Under Trump

Topline

Migrant families separated under a Trump-era policy will be allowed to request asylum in the U.S. and get benefits like housing and legal counsel, as part of a court settlement filed Monday by the Biden Administration and the American Civil Liberties Union—concluding a yearslong legal dispute after thousands of children were separated from their families at the southern border.

Migrant families will only be separated in the future if the child is being abused or if the parent … [+] was previously convicted on charges that “demonstrate a threat to national security or public safety,” according to a settlement deal between the ACLU and the Biden Administration.

Key Facts

A settlement proposal filed jointly by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Biden Administration would provide previously separated families with a special request for asylum in the U.S., regardless of whether they were denied in the past.

Any families that are granted asylum under the agreement will have access to government-funded housing benefits, legal counsel and medical and mental health services.

The settlement also prevents U.S. border officials from deliberately separating future families for the next eight years if parents illegally enter the country with their children.

Under the terms of the deal, families will only be separated in cases in which the parent was previously convicted on charges that “demonstrate a threat to national security or public safety,” or if the child is being abused.

Separated parents and children living in the U.S. will also be able to petition to bring their immediate family members from their home countries.

The settlement does not provide monetary compensation for the families, a idea that was previously discussed, despite some other lawsuits accusing the government of negligence, abuse and inflicting emotional distress.

Big Number

3,881. That’s how many children were separated from their families between 2017 and 2021, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Of these, 74% have been reunited with their families.

Crucial Quote

“It is our intent to do whatever we can to make sure that the cruelty of the past is not repeated in the future,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told the Associated Press.

What To Watch For

District Judge Dana Sabraw—who issued an injunction on the policy in 2018—will hold a hearing on the settlement in December. Anyone opposed to the settlement will be allowed to raise objections to Sabraw before the hearing.

Key Background

Family separation at the U.S.-Mexico border began en masse after the Justice Department announced in 2018 it had implemented a “zero tolerance” policy for migrants who cross the border illegally. All migrants were referred to the DOJ for prosecution, while thousands of children under the age of 18 who crossed the border with their parents were sent to separate shelters. The policy was denounced by advocacy groups like the ACLU, and President Donald Trump—who acknowledged the separations were meant to deter unlawful migration—signed an executive order to halt the policy, though investigations determined that families continued to be separated throughout his term, according to the Washington Post. President Joe Biden issued an executive order in 2021 to reunite families that were separated under the policy. Mayorkas estimated in February that an interagency task force had reconnected 689 children, while the ACLU estimates between 500 and 1,500 migrant children are still separated from their families.