White House press secretary Jen Psaki issued a rebuke of the Trump administration’s hard-line approach to immigration as the new administration’s approach comes under fire.
Asked whether the White House has a messaging problem, Psaki pushed back, charging that former President Donald Trump’s “zero-tolerance” border and detention policies were inhumane.
“In the last administration, we had a morality problem,” Psaki told reporters Wednesday. “Children were being pulled from the arms of their parents, and kids were being sent back on a treacherous journey. That’s not the approach of this administration.”
“We understand that means there will be more kids who are crossing the border, we made a policy decision that was the right, humane step to take. But I think it’s also important for people to understand that the vast majority of people who come to our border are turned away,” she added.
BIDEN IMMIGRATION RESPONSE TAKING ON WATER AMID INFLUX AT SOUTHERN BORDER
Biden’s team has struggled to contain what Republicans call a crisis at the southern border, where a sharp uptick in unaccompanied children has led to the reopening of Trump-era detention centers and criticism across the political divide.
Under the still-enacted Trump administration Title 42 rule, adults are immediately sent back, but children and some families are taken into custody.
“Our focus is on ensuring that there are safe places for these kids to go,” with education, medical, and legal resources, while they await vetting for families or sponsors, Psaki said.
Despite advising migrants to wait, a senior administration official said Wednesday that the prospect of “a more humane policy” under Biden “may have” contributed to the increase in border apprehensions.
“Surges tend to respond to hope, and there was a significant hope for a more humane policy after four years of pent-up demand,” said Roberta Jacobson, Biden’s National Security Council coordinator for the southern border.
As Biden seeks to thread a needle between Democratic constituencies and Republicans, with whom he pledged to unify the country, the president’s handling of the brewing crisis could stymie his best efforts.
“We recognize that it is incumbent upon us and this administration to continue to work day and night to expedite the process” of housing children who are being held at Border Patrol facilities, Psaki said.
Many facilities are at capacity, unable to receive additional charges from overwhelmed Border Patrol facilities.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its COVID-19 guidance this month to allow facilities to operate at full capacity, abandoning requirements that the White House had used to explain the reopening of Trump-era detention facilities.
