A girl shows her US passport during a demonstration of migrants and asylum seekers at the San Ysidro crossing port asking US authorities to allow them to start their migration process in Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico, on Tuesday. AFP
After two months of relatively smooth sailing, US President Joe Biden has landed in choppy waters – faced with a migrant rush on the Mexico-US border, the Democratic leader stands accused of failing to respond effectively – and of lacking transparency with the media.
Questioned by Republican opponents, but also by some in his own party, Biden has launched into a difficult week that features, on March 25, his first press conference since taking office.
The influx of thousands of migrants has provided an opening to his critics, who struggled to find an angle of attack as Biden successfully ramped up the coronavirus vaccination campaign – and it has united the fractured Republican Party in the process.
They have accused the new president of creating the border chaos with a naive immigration stance.
“Despite your administration’s refusal to admit this is a crisis, the American people are beginning to understand the gravity of the situation,” said Republican Senator Ted Cruz, announcing that he would visit the border this week with 14 of his colleagues.
Cruz accused the White House of “hiding the truth” by preventing journalists from visiting border facilities, particularly those holding children.
Two rival senators – Republican John Cornyn and Democrat Kyrsten Sinema, who represent border states Texas and Arizona, respectively – also issued a joint letter urging Biden to step up his response.
Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump chimed in, saying: “It’s insane and it’s nothing compared to what it’s going to be over the coming months,” fanning the flames on a topic that has long been a trigger for his political base.
So far, Biden has largely avoided the issue, but faced with reporters’ questions at his press conference later this week, he knows he will have to address it head on.
Asked about it on March 21 evening after a weekend at Camp David, he remained evasive.
Does he intend to go to the border himself?
“At some point I will, yes,” he said.
Doesn’t he feel the need to see for himself what is going on there?
“I know what’s going on in those facilities,” he replied.
His last 10 tweets discuss masks, vaccinations, St Patrick’s Day, the stimulus package, global warming and violence against Asian Americans . . . but not the situation on the border.
‘The border is not open’
The crisis is thwarting the White House’s plans to continue the “Help is Here” tour – a victory lap promoting the merits of Biden’s gigantic, massively popular $1.9 trillion economic stimulus plan adopted by Congress.
The only presidential trip of the week was scheduled for March 23 – Biden was slated to travel to the state of Ohio and highlight the positive impact of his aid initiative, dubbed the “American Rescue Plan”, on the health sector.
At a time when lawmakers from both parties are visiting the border, and the first photos of unaccompanied migrant children, who are at the heart of the controversy, are being released – the White House is struggling to explain how it ended up here and what comes next.
Biden has pledged to erase what he has called “a moral and national shame” inherited from Trump – namely, the separation of thousands of migrant families, some of whom have still not been reunited.
