The DOJ is facing almost 1,000 claims for damages. Many of those claims come from children who were taken from their parents without it being clear they would ever be reunited. Some still have not been reunited.

Medical experts at the time said the policy was tantamount to child abuse. A report last year by the non-profit group Physicians for Human Rights said that it constituted torture.

As a point of fact, therefore, the government’s exposure was caused by the Trump policy. And the cases will have to be adjudicated one way or another.

To be sure, the DOJ could take its chances in court. But given that the plaintiffs are seeking an average of $3.4 million per family according to the Journal, that would be a costly gamble. The government — and by extension the taxpayer — would also have to shoulder the legal costs of going to court as well.