Biden news: Trump ‘got vaccine while president’, as New York AG set to probe Cuomo harassment claims
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump’s administration “dismantled” the US immigration system according to Joe Biden’s head of homeland security Alejandro Mayorkas in comments during the White House press briefing on Monday. He said that his team is working around the clock to “replace the cruelty of the past administration with an orderly, humane and safe immigration process”.
Joe Biden is currently meeting with his Mexican counterpart President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador, “AMLO”, for an initial virtual meeting at which immigration and fighting the Covid-19 pandemic are expected to be top of the agenda. Mr Biden told AMLO that he sees Mexico as an equal.
It was announced in the White House Covid briefing that the CDC is “deeply concerned” at the plateauing of the decline in Covid cases in the US as new variants spread and states begin to relax restrictions.
As the first Johnson & Johnson vaccines are sent out for delivery across the US, it emerged that former president Trump and first lady Melania Trump received their vaccinations before leaving the White House in January.
In his speech at CPAC on Sunday, Mr Trump urged all Americans to take the vaccine.
NBC: White House to name refugee advocate to head reuniting separated families
NBC News reports that the White House is expected to select Michelle Brané of the Women’s Refugee Commission as the executive director of the task force to reunite migrant families separated by the Trump administration.
Ms Brané is director of migrant rights and justice programs at the Women’s Refugee Commission. Most of the task force is comprised of government officials.
The Women’s Refugee Commission is currently part of the steering committee tasked by a federal judge with finding and reuniting more than 600 migrant children with their parents. Nearly two-thirds of the parents are believed to have been deported.
As executive director, Ms Brané would oversee the inter-agency task force’s day-to-day operations.
Fauci talks about Johnson & Johnson vaccine
After its FDA approval on Saturday, Dr Anthony Fauci answered questions about the efficacy of the Johnson & Johnson single-shot vaccine.
Biden arrives back in DC
President Joe Biden has arrived back in Washington DC after his weekend away in Delaware. Poor weather means he will motorcade back to the White House from Joint Base Andrews rather than taking Marine One to the South Lawn.
He is scheduled to meet virtually with Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador at 4.30pm ET.
White House press briefing underway
White House press secretary Jen Psaki is joined today by Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.
Mr Mayorkas says he is working to replace the inhumanity of the previous administration by it will take time.
We are “working around the clock to replace the cruelty of the past administration,” he says.
Mr Mayorkas says that the Trump administration dismantled the nation’s immigration system in its entirety.
“It takes time to build out of the depths of cruelty that the administration before us established. What we are seeing now at the border is the immediate result of the dismantlement of the system and the time that it takes to rebuild it virtually from scratch.”
Biden criticised for transparency shortfalls
The Biden White House is being criticised for failing to clear the bar of transparency set by his former boss President Barack Obama. The Biden administration has committed to releasing visitor logs detailing those who visit the White House but not the virtual logs showing who attends White House meetings online.
Virtual meetings are the primary mode of operations at the White House, and it will probably stay that way until the pandemic recedes. The White House is also being criticised for not posting Mr Biden’s nor Ms Harris‘ schedules online, for the White House comment line being shut down, and for the White House website lacking citizen petitions.
Gustaf Kilander reports.
Biden criticised for falling short of Obama on transparency after failing to release White House virtual visitor logs
Virtual meetings are primary mode of operations at White House and will probably stay that way until pandemic recedes
Mayorkas implores migrants to wait while they rebuild immigration system.
“They need to wait. It takes time to rebuild the system from scratch. If they come, if families come, if single adults come, we are obligated to ... return them.”
Mayorkas underlines the difference in policy to the previous administration.
“The Trump administration expelled children to Mexico” he said. “We are not.”
Mr Mayorkas explains that they are now actually bringing children into a Border Patrol station as a stepping point to uniting them with a sponsor or relative more quickly.
Trump ‘dismantled’ US immigration system ‘in entirety’
Donald Trump “dismantled” the immigration system of the United States “in entirety” a top Biden administration official has claimed.
The president’s Secretary of Homeland security said that the White House had to “rebuild out of the depths of cruelty” overseen by Mr Trump’s administration.
“Quite frankly the entire system was gutted,” said Alejandro Mayorkas at a White House press briefing.
Graeme Massie reports.
Trump ‘dismantled’ US immigration system ‘in entirety’ claims top Biden official
Donald Trump “dismantled” the immigration system of the United States “in entirety” a top Biden administration official has claimed.
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