President Biden on Saturday described the situation at the border for the first time as a ‘crisis’, as he had defended his feedback on refugee policy a day earlier.
‘We are going to increase the number [of refugees], “he told reporters.” The problem was that the refugee section was dealing with the crisis that ended up on the border with young people. We could not do two things at once. But now we are going to increase the number. ‘
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The Biden government has so far refused to call the dramatic increase in the number of migrants, which met 172,000 migrants in March alone, a ‘crisis’. Instead, it referred to it as a ‘challenge’ and blamed the breakdown of the Trump administration’s of asylum seekers.
“The men and women of the Department of Homeland Security work 24 hours a day, seven days a week to ensure that we do not face a crisis at the border – that we meet the challenge, just as sharply as the challenge,” DHS said. secretary said. Alejandro Mayorkas said last month.
But critics have pointed to the record number of migrants, overwhelming facilities and shocking images coming from the border, blaming the crisis on Biden’s liberal immigration policies to encourage migrants to make the journey north.
Biden found himself in hot water with members of his own party on Friday when he signed a presidential determination to limit the number of refugees for the 2021 budget year to 15,000 while changing the local allocation from whom it is brought in. This is the same level set by the Trump administration.
Biden said in February that he would raise the cap to 125,000 for FY 2022, which begins in October. He also said he would make a payment on the number with Congress. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Antony Blinken has proposed to Congress to lift the cap to 62,000 for this financial year.
Immigration activists and left-wing Democrats were furious about the move. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, calling it ‘completely and utterly unacceptable’.
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“This admission target for Biden administration is unacceptable,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. “These refugees can wait years for their chance and go do extensive investigation. Thirty-five thousand are ready. In the biggest refugee crisis of our time, there is no reason to limit the number to 15,000. Say it is not so, President Joe. ”
Hours later, the White House changed course and blamed the confusion on behalf of the media, promising to increase the number of refugees by the middle of next month.
“Given the retired refugee admission program we inherited and the burdens on the refugee resettlement office, his initial target of 62,500 seems unlikely,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, referring to the border crossing , of which the ORR – part of Health and Human Services (HHS) is an important agency to handle the flow.
Psaki then said that with the reform of refugee admissions, a new updated hood would be announced before mid-May.
‘While finalizing the determination, the President was asked to take immediate action to reverse the Trump policy banning refugees from many key regions so that flights could begin within a few days of those regions; “Today’s order did that,” she said. “Once that is done, we expect the president to set a final, increased refugee limit by May 15 for the rest of this fiscal year.”
However, there is still no sign of the increase in administration, and what is affecting ORR, which is slowing down soon. There are currently more than 19,000 unaccompanied children in HHS care as of Friday.
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But left-wing Democrats who criticized the initial move welcomed the u-turn.
“This is a testament to the power that has built up people’s movements, community advocates and progressive coalitions,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “Thank you for that and the decision of the Biden admin to respond to organizers today. Let’s get these families in their new homes in the United States now.”