Justice Department breaks off settlement talks with families separated at US-Mexico border

By Priscilla Alvarez, CNN

The Justice Department has informed attorneys representing separated migrant families that it will cease settlement negotiations and are ready to go back to court, according to an attorney representing families.

The news comes after the White House came under political pressure following news of the talks and potential payments to families became public, but it was not immediately clear why the Justice Department ceased negotiations.

ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt called the decision “shameful.”

“The U.S. government deliberately abused young children and yet the Biden administration has allowed politics to stand in the way of making it right. That’s shameful,” Gelernt said in a statement to CNN.

The Justice Department did not immediately comment.

This story is breaking and will be updated.

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