The White House is under scrutiny to be more open about the influx of migrant children crossing the United States-Mexico border.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki refused to confirm a reporter’s question on Tuesday about whether more than 3,250 unaccompanied migrant children are being held by the administration, instead directing reporters to the Department of Homeland Security.
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“I would encourage you to go back to them and ask them again. We’re not going to confirm them from the White House. It’s not our program. It’s the Department of Homeland Security’s program,” Psaki said, even though President Biden is in charge of the entire federal government, including DHS. In fact, he sent a group of aides to the southern border in recent days to get a firsthand look at the situation there, including how detained kids are being housed and treated.
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Psaki’s podium will only be used to discuss the “root causes” and the White House’s responses, including diplomatic efforts, according to the Biden administration’s top spokesperson. Psaki also declined to call the surge a “crisis,” defending the stance by arguing a label is not the “information” the public needs nor wants.
Only that officials use descriptive adjectives all the time to help U.S. citizens understand the scope of various problems and challenges. Psaki has repeatedly used her briefings to do the opposite about what Republicans and experts call an influx of children at the U.S.-Mexico boundary.
Unaccompanied migrant children are being prioritized by Biden’s administration over families and individuals in part because of a policy shift from former President Donald Trump and the coronavirus pandemic. The children are temporarily housed by DHS before being transferred to Health and Human Services Department facilities or partners while their cases are being processed. But the drastic uptick in applicants, higher than 2019’s peak, combined with COVID-19 social distancing guidelines, have put pressure on federal government resources.
To address the concerns, the administration has, for instance, relied on facilities dating back to Trump’s time in office. Among those Trump-era facilities is a center in Carrizo Springs, Texas, which has been criticized by Democrats, such as New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Biden officials visited Carrizo Springs last week to better understand the situation at the border before briefing the president on their findings. Psaki on Tuesday rebuffed queries regarding a timeline of when reporters would be allowed to inspect the facility too.
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“We want to do it with respect for the privacy of the people staying,” she said while pointing to the importance of “abiding by COVID protocols” as well.
