The White House unveiled a plan to “replace the cruelty” of former President Donald Trump’s administration with what it is calling a new approach to dealing with migrants at the southern border.
A senior Biden administration official on Monday sought to deflect blame for some recent criticism about a continuation of some Trump-era policies, including reopening some migrant detention centers that Democrats once called “cages” used to house children.
The Department of Homeland Security is “working around the clock” to “build out of the depths of cruelty that the administration before us established,” including by sending foreign aid overseas, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters at the White House.
BERNIE SANDERS TURNS UP HEAT ON BIDEN AFTER MINIMUM WAGE SETBACK
“What we are seeing now at the border is the immediate result of the dismantlement of the system and the time that it takes to rebuild it, virtually from scratch,” he said.
During the briefing, Mayorkas named Michelle Brane as head of Biden’s family reunification task force, reported that 105 families had been reunified “in the recent past” after being separated at the border, and said three immigration courts are now processing up to 100 applications a day as officials experience an uptick in cases.
“If, in fact, they seek to reunite here in the U.S., we will explore lawful pathways for them to remain in the U.S.,” he said.
The secretary also said Trump-era coronavirus-related restrictions would remain in place as the White House prioritizes unaccompanied migrant children coming to the border, returning families and single adults in the meantime during the pandemic to their home countries.
“We are not saying, ‘Don’t come.’ We are saying, ‘Don’t come now,'” he said, adding there is only a “challenge” and not a crisis at the border.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Mayorkas’s appearance at the White House briefing room podium after his tough confirmation battle coincides with President Biden’s virtual meeting later in the day with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
The two leaders first spoke by phone on Jan. 22 and are expected to announce a series of joint projects and efforts, including the United States suspending all enrollments in the Migrant Protection Protocols and processing some migrants at select ports of entry.
