President Joe Biden has vowed to implement a “humane” immigration policy.
But as thousands of migrants began heading to the U.S. border optimistic that the new president would rollback restrictive Trump-era policies, officials began warning migrants against making the journey — at least for now.
However, reports indicate that officials have encountered over 100,000 migrants at the border — the highest amount in five years — over the last four weeks.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked on Wednesday, “Do you have a messaging problem?”
“Well, I would say that in the last administration, we had a morality problem. Children were being pulled from the arms of their parents, and kids were being sent back on a treacherous journey,” she responded.
“And that’s not the approach of this administration. So, certainly, we understand that means there will be more kids who are crossing the border. We made a policy decision that that was the right, humane step to take.”
Watch the video below:
Reporter: Do you have an [immigration] messaging problem?
— NowThis Impact (@nowthisimpact) March 10, 2021
Jen Psaki: ‘In the last admin, we had a morality problem. Children were being pulled from the arms of their parents and kids were being sent back on a treacherous journey’ pic.twitter.com/dXwWYyxANU
Psaki appeared to be referring to a Trump-era policy that separated migrant children from their parents while they were waiting for deportation hearings, as well as pandemic restrictions that turn away migrant families at the border.
The administration has decided to accept unattended migrant children who travel to the border and hold them in facilities operated by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) until they can be processed and released to families or sponsors.
However, the policy has created a new challenge for the administration as officials struggle to keep pace with the number of unattended children crossing the border.
Psaki has made clear that the majority of migrants will be turned away as officials work to replace Trump’s policies.
In February, she explained, “Due to the pandemic and the fact that we have not had the time as an administration to put in place humane, comprehensive process for processing individuals who are coming to the border, now is not the time to come. And the vast majority of people will be turned away.”
