Less than 24 hours after President Biden gave an interview discouraging migrants from traveling north, White House press secretary Jen Psaki pushed a softer message from her podium.
“You’ve heard the president say in this interview that he conducted that he is encouraging people not to come. Now is not the time to come. This is not a safe journey for people to take of any age,” Psaki said during her Wednesday briefing.
FOUR BUZZWORDS BIDEN ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS USE TO SIGNAL THE LEFT
During a tense exchange, Psaki affirmed Biden and his aides “fully support transparency” regarding the surge of migrants at the United States-Mexico border but continued to direct questions to the Department of Homeland Security. She said she would see if the team that traveled to Texas last weekend to inspect immigration facilities would share their experiences and photos with the press.
Border agents and resources have been put under extreme pressure by the uptick in migrants seeking asylum at the southern border, particularly children, as most adults and families are being sent back to their home countries because of the coronavirus pandemic.
And the pressure seems to be reaching the White House, with Psaki offering a curt response to a reporter who asked whether Biden was considering placing a cap on unaccompanied minors that he was prepared to let stay.
“‘Should we send some kids who are 10 back at a certain point?’ Is that what you’re asking me?” Psaki replied.
“These numbers have been increasing since April of last year,” she added.
Administration officials have repeatedly contradicted one another with their border rhetoric. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas first muddied Psaki’s original position that it was a “dangerous trip” by suggesting the U.S. wasn’t “saying don’t come.”
“We are saying don’t come now,” he told reporters earlier this month.
Then Biden’s border czar, Southern Border Ambassador Roberta Jacobson, mistakenly said last week, “La frontera no esta cerrada” or “the border is not closed,” before correcting herself.
The White House has also faced repeated questions about its transparency on the issue, with reporters asking about access to and pictures of the detention facilities.
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Biden described his own stance in a preview of the Wednesday interview with ABC: “I can say quite clearly: Don’t come over. Don’t leave your town or city or community.”
