Roberta Jacobson: Joe Biden is ‘clear-eyed’ about border challenge

President Biden’s senior official for the Southwest border on Wednesday sought to assure the public the administration has a firm handle on the surge of unaccompanied minors coming into the United States from Mexico.

Roberta Jacobson, special assistant to the president and coordinator for the southern border, said Mr. Biden is “clear-eyed about the challenge” and said smugglers are making the problem worse by promoting the idea the new administration has made it easier to enter — and stay in — the country.

“We have seen surges before and surges tend to respond to hope, and there was a sign of hope for a more humane policy after four years of pent-up demand,” Ms. Jacobson told reporters at the daily briefing. “I certainly think the idea that a more humane policy may be in place may have driven people to making that decision.”

“Perhaps more importantly it drove smugglers to express disinformation, to spread disinformation, about what was now possible,” she said.

Ms. Jacobson said Mr. Biden is working to unwind former President Trump’s immigration policies.

She highlighted the restarting of the Central American Minors Refugee program that helps connect parents legally here with their children.

“We can’t just undo four years of the previous administration’s actions overnight,” Ms. Jaconson said. “Those actions didn’t just neglect our immigration system, they intentionally made it worse.”

She said the White House is seeking $4 billion in foreign assistance to “address the root causes of immigration — including corruption, violence, and economic devastation exacerbated by climate change.” 

The funds, she said, would go toward working with the private sector and non-government organizations, and said it would be used for, among other things, community training, climate mitigation and anti-gang programs.

“Obviously it is not our first rodeo,” Ms. Jacobson said. “We know how to get money to communities who are most likely to send migrants.”