WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that he has appointed Vice President Kamala Harris to lead efforts on stemming migration across the U.S.-Mexico border as the administration faces growing political pressure to address a surge in undocumented migrant children unaccompanied by parents.
Harris will focus on coordination with Mexico and the Northern Triangle, Biden said at the White House.
The president’s announcement comes as he has scrambled to find a solution that provides care for thousands of those unaccompanied children during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic while also working with Central American countries to address long-term solutions to migration in that region.
March 24, 202106:26
A number of top officials have been dispatched in recent days to help address the issue, with a group of senior White House officials and lawmakers traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border Wednesday. Other top officials were expected to visit Mexico and Guatemala.
The surge in migration has created a difficult problem for Biden who campaigned on a promise to reverse Trump-era policies that he and Democrats characterized as cruel and inhumane. At the same time, Republicans have blamed Biden for the increase in migrants, saying that the president’s rhetoric and policies have encouraged people to travel to the U.S. from Central America.
Undocumented immigration tends to increase seasonally in the early spring after the cold winter months and ahead of the summer when border crossings can be deadly. While data shows a sharper increase in border crossings this spring compared to previous seasons, some experts say that increase is expected given the pent-up demand from people who had delayed their journeys due to the pandemic.
Biden has kept in place Title 42, a public health order put in place by the Trump administration ostensibly to curb the spread of Covid-19 that expels the vast majority of undocumented adults. Biden has declined to expel unaccompanied immigrant children.
For weeks, the White House has declined to say whether Harris would be given a specific policy portfolio, instead insisting that Biden and Harris were full governing partners and would tackle issues in tandem. Wednesday’s announcement marks the first high-profile policy initiative Harris will take on as vice president.
In an interview with CBS earlier Wednesday morning, Harris said that she and Biden would “absolutely” visit the border sometime soon.
“We need to deal with what’s happening in the Northern Triangle and address it in a way that is about not only diplomacy, but bringing our allies together,” Harris said in the interview, acknowledging that the current overcrowding in border facilities among migrant children was a “huge problem.”
“Look, we’ve been in office less than 100 days. We are addressing it. We’re dealing with it. But it’s going to take some time.” Harris said. “And are we frustrated? Are you frustrated? Yes. We are.”
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
