Harris to be point person for Biden administration in stemming flow of
migrants at the border
Latest: Biden taps Harris to lead efforts to stem the flow of migrants at
the southern border
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President Biden exits the State Dining Room of the White House on Tuesday
after giving remarks on the mass shooting in Boulder, Colo. (Demetrius
Freeman/The Washington Post)
By
John Wagner,
Felicia Sonmez and
Colby Itkowitz
March 24, 2021 at 2:24 p.m. EDT
President Biden announced Wednesday that Vice President Harris will become
the point person for the administration in seeking to stem the flow of
migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. As part of that role, she will work with
El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras as the administration grapples with an
influx of asylum seekers.
Later Wednesday, Biden is expected to hold an event marking Equal Pay Day
with Megan Rapinoe, Margaret Purce and other U.S. soccer stars. Meanwhile,
the Senate is poised to confirm Rachel Levine as assistant secretary of
health, making her the first openly transgender, Senate-confirmed federal
official in U.S. history.
Here's what to know:
Biden called for tightening the nation's gun laws, plunging him into an
impassioned debate that he largely tiptoed around until it erupted anew
after two mass shootings.
Biden announced that the federal insurance marketplace will remain open for
consumers to buy Affordable Care Act health plans through mid-August,
doubling the length of an unprecedented extra enrollment period that
launched last month.
Congressional Republicans sounded off in early opposition to Biden's
still-forming plans to push a roughly $3 trillion infrastructure and social
welfare overhaul package, signaling a tough political slog on the horizon.
The White House agreed to add a senior-level Asian American Pacific Islander
liaison after two senators threatened to vote no on nominees because of what
they said was a lack of sufficient AAPI representation in Biden's Cabinet.
2:24 p.m.
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Biden taps Harris to lead efforts to stem the flow of migrants at the
southern border
By Sean Sullivan
Biden has tapped Vice President Harris to lead efforts to stem the flow of
migrants at the southern border through working with Mexico and Northern
Triangle countries, the president announced Wednesday.
"This new surge we are dealing with now started in the past administration
but it is our responsibility" to deal with it, Biden said.
The announcement comes as Biden is scrambling to deal with a significant
increase in the number of migrants at the southern border. Biden dispatched
officials to Mexico and Guatemala this week to focus on ways to slow the
pace at which people are arriving on the southern border.
Harris will have two overarching goals in her new role: She will be working
to stem the flow of migrants and establishing a strategic partnership with
Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The role is similar to a
portfolio Biden assumed as former president Barack Obama's vice president.
"I can think of nobody who is better qualified to do this," Biden said,
mentioning Harris's work as California attorney general.
Harris said there is "no question this is a challenging situation," and
spoke of the need to enforce laws and also address root causes.
Miriam's comment: I've read in other articles that, in fact, there is no
surge. This is precisely what Trump was doing and before him, Biden. This is
disgusting!