Biden administration border settlement with ACLU would limit future separations for 8 years
A court settlement reached by the Biden administration and the American Civil Liberties Union would prevent the federal government from implementing immigration policies that separate parents and children for at least eight years and would provide families split up under the Trump administration with temporary legal status and short-term housing aid.
The settlement still has to be approved by a judge but would temporarily prohibit the "zero-tolerance" policy on illegal immigration under which former President Donald Trump separated thousands of families at the border with Mexico.
The proposed settlement also provides authorization for parents of separated children to come to the U.S. under humanitarian parole for three years and work in the United States. The families receive housing aid for up to a year and medical and behavioral health benefits designed to address some of the trauma associated with the separations.
"It is our intent to do whatever we can to make sure that the cruelty of the past is not repeated in the future. We set forth procedures through this settlement agreement to advance that effort," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told The Associated Press.
Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, has not ruled out reviving the policy if he wins next year's election.
Controversy grew under Trump as children were separated from their parents or guardians after illegally crossing into the United States. The children, who could not be held in criminal custody, were transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services and then typically sent to live with a sponsor, often a relative or someone else with a family connection.
Trump eventually reversed course in 2018 amid fierce criticism from Democrats. Hundreds of families sued the federal government, seeking monetary damages and policy changes.
"This settlement means that babies and toddlers will finally get to see their parents after years apart and that these suffering families will have an opportunity to seek lawful status," said Lee Gelernt, lead counsel for the ACLU. "Nothing can make these families whole again but this is at least a start."
On his first day in office, Biden indued an executive order to reunite the families. According to figures released by the Department of Homeland Security in February, 3,881 children were separated from their families from 2017 to 2021. About 74% of those have been reunited with their families: 2,176 before a Biden administration task force was created and 689 afterward.
The proposed settlement comes as the number of illegal migrants continues to trend upward at the southern border. Republicans have blamed Democrats and Biden for policies say have fueled the migrant surge.
A new report by Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee blames DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for what it says are the "devastating human costs" of the migrant crisis at the southern border.
The report followed a committee hearing in September where members heard about the human effects of the crisis — including child trafficking, overwhelmed Border Patrol agents, and the ongoing effects of fentanyl trafficking in from Mexico.
"As [cartels] push record numbers of illegal aliens across the border, stretching Border Patrol resources to—and often past—the breaking point, they have increased their ability to push drugs like fentanyl across, as well," the report says.
A judge will hold a hearing to decide whether to accept the settlement plan between the federal government and ACLU. Before that, people opposed to the settlement can raise objections to the judge.
Fox News Digital's Adam Shaw and The Associated Press contributed to this report.