The Big Picture: Immigration Rising |
During his first news conference as president, President Biden wanted to focus on vaccination progress. “We will, by my 100th day in office, have administered 200 million shots in people’s arms,” Biden said of the new vaccination goal. “That’s right: 200 million shots in 100 days. I know it’s ambitious, twice our original goal.” But talk of the pandemic was overshadowed by questions on the rising number of migrants, including unaccompanied minors, at the southern U.S. border. There were 13 questions, including follow-ups, about immigration and zero about COVID-19. Looked at another way, there were: - 33 mentions of the words “immigration” or “border,”
- 27 mentions (yes, 27) of the word “filibuster,”
- 2 mentions of “COVID” and 2 mentions of “vaccinations” -- and it was the president who mentioned each of those.
At the news conference, Biden downplayed the spike in migration since he’s taken office. “The truth of the matter is: Nothing has changed,” the president claimed, adding, "There is a significant increase in the number of people coming to the border in the winter months of January, February, March," he said. "That happens every year." But that’s not entirely accurate, as NPR’s Franco Ordoñez reports: “It is true, as Biden states, that numbers often rise during the early months of the year when temperatures begin to warm. But the number of children arriving today without their parents is considerably higher than at the same time in 2019 and 2020.” Biden blamed his predecessor for decreasing capacity of immigration detention facilities. He noted that the current conditions were “totally unacceptable,” and he noted that his administration is working to fix the problem. He announced 5,000 beds were being made available at Fort Bliss in Texas. But asked if he’d be “transparent” and let journalists see how migrants were currently being held, the president struggled. “I will commit to transparency, and — as soon as I am in a position to be able to implement what we are doing right now,” Biden said, adding, “this is being set up, and you’ll have full access to everything once we get this thing moving.” But the dominance of the topic shows that for as much as the pandemic has put a halt on American life and the economy, the immigration situation is going to continue to be a thorn in Biden’s side. And there is little chance of a comprehensive solution to the immigration problem, given Republicans see this as a political advantage for them. Immigration has truly become a third rail in American politics. |
— Domenico Montanaro, NPR’s senior political editor/correspondent |
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Biden press conference: During the first press conference of his term this week, President Biden said his administration’s new goal is to get 200 million coronavirus vaccine shots into arms by his 100th day in office — double his original goal. Biden also reiterated his support for changing the Senate filibuster rules and said his next major legislative push would be on infrastructure. D.C. statehood: A bill from Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton to grant D.C. statehood received a House committee hearing this week. The bill would reduce the size of the federal district and admit the state of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth — in honor of the abolitionist Frederick Douglass — into the union. And though recent polling shows a majority of Americans support statehood, GOP Rep. James Comer of Kentucky said during the hearing that the effort was “a key part of the radical leftist agenda to reshape America.” DeJoy’s USPS plan: Postmaster General Louis DeJoy unveiled a 10-year reorganization plan for the Postal Service that would lengthen delivery times for some first-class mail, cut hours at some post offices and increase postal rate prices. The plan received a mixed response, with the American Postal Workers Union saying the plan “contains both positive attributes as well as some proposals that should be of concern to postal workers and customers." GOP-led voting restrictions: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a massive new voting law that places restrictions on absentee voting and reduces the number of absentee drop-boxes, as well as making it a crime to pass out food or drinks to voters waiting in line. President Biden criticized the law as "Jim Crow in the 21st century." Meanwhile, in Texas, state Republicans are considering multiple proposals to curb local efforts to expand voting access, including a ban on drive-through voting and restricting polling places from being open for more than 12 hours. Harris’ role on migration: Vice President Harris will lead the Biden administration's diplomatic push to work with Mexico and Central American countries on the root causes of migration as an increasing number of migrants arrive at the southern U.S. border. As of Wednesday, more than 5,000 unaccompanied migrant children and teens are in Customs and Border Protection custody, Department of Homeland Security data viewed by NPR shows — and thousands of them have remained in CBP facilities for longer than the 72 hours allowed by law. Virginia bans death penalty: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam signed a law abolishing the death penalty in the state this week, becoming the 23rd state in the U.S. and the first in the South to ban the practice. Virginia has executed more people than any other state since the first execution took place at Jamestown in 1608. |
— Brandon Carter, NPR Politics social media producer |
Brittany Murray/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images |
Vaccine disinformation: Although over 85 million Americans have received at least one dose of the vaccine against the coronavirus, disinformation about the vaccine continues to spread. A recent news article that misleadingly tied a doctor’s death to the vaccine was viewed 5 million times and published by two major newspapers, demonstrating how this disinformation spreads and can lead to vaccine hesitancy. The NCAA and trans rights fights: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem sent back a bill banning transgender women athletes from competing in school sports, citing concerns with how the bill contradicted national standards by the NCAA. The controversy over the action reflects a larger movement within the Republican Party around transgender rights. |
— Claire Oby, NPR Politics intern |
Embedded: 'People Will Forget About Us' |
Almost three years after the mass shooting at the Capital Gazette newsroom in Maryland, survivors reflect on their experiences directly following the disaster and how it continues to impact their lives now. Listen to the series from the Embedded podcast here. |
— Claire Oby, NPR Politics intern |
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