Democratic leaders gather to defend President Biden
Joe BidenPentagon takes charge of extending Guard’s time at Capitol Booker to try to make child tax credit expansion permanent Sullivan says tariffs won’t be at the center of talks with China MOREtackling the wave of migrants at the southern border, where the detention of thousands of children threatened to create a humanitarian crisis – and undermining the democratic pledges to address the dilemma with more compassion than before President Trump
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The issue is pungent for Democrats, who have beaten the Trump administration’s approach to border arrivals for the past four years, including a particularly controversial policy of separating children from their parents to deter Central American families from making the trek.
While Biden has deviated greatly from such draconian practices, the sheer number of newcomers – many of them unaccompanied children – has put a heavy strain on the border authorities’ ability to process the detainees and move them to safer, more sanitary facilities – a process complicated by social distancing protocols adopted during the coronavirus pandemic.
A recent CNN exposé described those detention centers, overseen by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), as “similar to prison cells and not intended for children.”
Still, Democratic leaders are downplaying the burgeoning crisis and rallying around Biden, expressing confidence that their White House ally will prioritize the well-being of children as he addresses the growing emergency.
“It will be nothing like what we saw in the Trump administration, of babies being snatched from their parents’ arms,” said Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Nancy PelosiPelosi Launches Infrastructure Debate And Calls For Bipartisanship Biden Celebrates Emergency Relief With GOP Leader Of The Democratic Leaders To Try To Force Swalwell Off Panel MORE (D-Calif.) Said Thursday at a press conference. “I trust the Biden government’s policy is based on humanitarian aid[ism] and love for children, rather than political points or red meat for their Republican base. “
Under current law, migrant children detained at the border are not allowed to remain in CBP custody for more than 72 hours before being transferred to facilities supervised by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Rep. Peter Aguilar (California), vice chair of the Democratic Caucus, said party leaders are watching the government closely to make sure those guidelines are followed.
“There is a process for this. The Biden government will move towards that process and we will hold them accountable, just as we did with the previous government, to make sure they comply with the law, ”Aguilar told reporters this week. But this is a process rooted in compassion. And that is the difference between the previous administration and this administration. “
The spike in border arrivals has underscored the challenge border officials face, even when they have the most humane of intentions.
In February alone, CBP agents encountered more than 100,000 migrants attempting to cross southwestern states – a 28 percent increase from the previous month and nearly three times as many as in February 2020.
Of these, nearly 9,500 were unaccompanied minors, an increase of 61 percent from January. And agency documents unearthed by both CNN and The New York Times revealed that those children are held in CBP custody on average for longer than the 72-hour limit provided by law.
Government officials have sought to turn the growing tide by discouraging Central American migrants from making the long journey north.
“The border is not open,” Roberta Jacobson, Biden’s southern border coordinator, said briefly from the White House on Wednesday.
Still, Jacobson also recognized that the government’s more lenient immigration policies – including proposals to extend citizenship to millions of people living illegally in the country – likely contributed to the recent spike in migrants.
“Increases usually respond to hope, and there was considerable hope for a more humane policy after four years of, you know, pent-up demand,” she said.
The developments have not been overlooked by the Republicans on Capitol Hill, who launched a media campaign to highlight the growing border crisis – and the Democrats’ struggle to address it.
The GOP strategy is reminiscent of Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric, and harsh, aggressive views on border issues helped him come to the White House in 2016. in the midterms of 2022.
Biden has created a crisis at the border that he won’t admit; 100,000 illegal immigrants were found last month. Put that in perspective. That’s bigger than our President Biden’s hometown of Scranton, Pa., And now it’s growing on its own. month after month, ”House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy
Kevin McCarthy GOP Leader To Try To Force Swalwell Of Panel Biden To Revoke Trump’s Order Over The Processing Of Young Migrants House Democrats Open To Making Proxy Voting The ‘New Normal’ MORE (R-Calif.), Who has requested a meeting with Biden across the border, said Friday on Fox News.
Biden “breaks the wall into a boundary, but he places it around the Capitol.”
On Monday, McCarthy will lead a delegation of a dozen House Republicans on a tour of the border and a migrant processing center in El Paso, Texas. The group includes a handful of swing-district Republicans such as Reps. Yvette Harrell (NM), Maria Salazar (Fla.), Carlos Jimenez (Fla.), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (Iowa) and Tony Gonzales (Texas).
The planned visit follows a press conference outside the Capitol this week where about 40 House Republicans beat what they call the “Biden Border Crisis.” At times, lawmakers seemed to be competing to see who could pronounce Biden’s name the most.
“Every day thousands of people enter the United States illegally. Border states are inundated. It is a drain on their resources. Super spreader caravans are coming, ”Minority Whip Steve Scalise
Stephen (Steve) Joseph Scalise No Republicans Return .9T COVID-19 Contingency Plan Top Republicans Seek To Address Concerns About Trump’s Funding Requirements 57 Republicans Go Home To Reopen Schools MORE (R-La.) Said. “And this has all been done by President Biden, and President Biden can address and reverse these policies … We call on President Biden to reverse his policies that caused this Biden border crisis.”
New York Rep. Added. John Katko
John Michael KatkoHillicon Valley: Lawmakers Roll Out Bill to Protect Critical Infrastructure After Florida Water Hack | Clyburn, Klobuchar push billion solution to digital divide | Uber and Lyft Share Information About Drivers Banned For “ Most Serious ” Safety Incidents Lawmakers Roll Out Bill To Protect Critical Infrastructure After Florida Water Hack Passes Pro-Union Bill By House, Starts Senate Lobby Fight MORE, the Homeland Security Committee’s top Republican: “It’s borderline disorder on the orders of the executive to channel Dr. Seuss.”
But Rep. Mark Takano
Mark Allan TakanoK Street navigates virtual opening week Hoyer calls on VA secretary Wilkie to resign after watchdog report Pelosi calls on Wilkie to step down from VA after watchdog report findings MORE (D-Calif.), Who represents a Spanish majority in Riverside County, argued that the GOP’s “reflexive, nativist, anti-immigrant sentiment” is damaging the US economy.
“If you suddenly lost 8 million people, our economy would shrink significantly,” Takano told The Hill, while Republicans protested at their press conference a stone’s throw from Biden’s immigration policy.
Why a path to citizenship? Well, it means your Social Security is more healthy, which means Medicare is on a solid foundation. That’s an argument I think any American can appreciate … We have to recognize its contribution [immigrants] provide the economic dynamism they offer our society. “
Biden is no stranger to the issue of border peaks. As a vice president under former President Obama, he has focused on federal efforts to improve conditions in the so-called Northern Triangle countries of Central America – Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador – where most of the migrants come from. The idea is that by helping those countries reduce corruption and tackle poverty, fewer residents will want to leave – a strategy that will be incorporated into a comprehensive immigration reform package currently being drafted by Rep. Linda Sanchez
Linda Teresa Sánchez Democrats Debating Accelerated Infrastructure Package Biden’s Immigration Act Has Problems – Many of Them Privacy, Immigrant Rights Groups Reject Biden’s ‘Smart Wall’ Proposal MORE (D-Calif.) And other members of Hispanic Caucus.
“You will not tackle this until you have solved the problems with the Northern Triangle,” said Aguilar.
As they work to finalize their comprehensive reform package, House Democrats are running ahead with their immigration agenda and are planning to vote next week on a pair of bills that provide a path to citizenship for migrant farm workers, immigrants with temporary protected status and the Dreamers, which do goods. illegally brought to the country as children.