Biden's First News Conference Today; Immigration, Gun Violence Issues To Be Raised

US President Joe Biden will hold his first news conference in the East Room of the White House, in Washington DC today at 1:15 pm ET. The press conference that will be televised nationwide, comes nine weeks into his presidency. He has been criticized by conservatives and his allies for delay in holding a formal press conference.

Biden will be grilled by reporters on several pressing issues that have been rocking the nation like immigration, gun control, minimum wage hike, etc. He will also take the opportunity to talk about his Covid-19 relief package.

In a statement on Wednesday, he attributed the surge in migrants at the southern border to the mismanagement of the Trump administration. “This new surge we are dealing with now started with the last administration, but it’s our responsibility to deal with it humanely,” said Biden. This was during a recent interaction with the Secretary of Homeland Security Xavier Becerra and other top immigration advisers.

“There was a serious spike in people heading to the southern border even in the midst of that [the Trump administration]. That was because there were serious natural disasters" in Latin America,” he added, while suggesting how he planned to get Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the White House effort to tackle the issue. He also reasoned the move to Harris being the most qualified person to work with Mexico and Central American nations as they work toward combating the “serious spikes” in people trying to cross the border illegally.

The statements have triggered Republicans who argue that the unprecedented spike was the President’s undoing of Trump’s strict border policies which led to the flow of migrants northward.

As per the data available with Fox News; Customs and Border Protection allegedly announced that it had encountered over 100,000 migrants at the border in February, after over 78,000 in January.

According to CBP data, 547,816 apprehensions were logged in at the southern border in 2020. That compares to 178,883 apprehensions since January 1, 2021. The highest migration level at the border was registered in May 2019 under the presidency of Donald Trump, when over 130,000 migrants were arrested at the border. Trump addressed the concern by stating policies to deter migrants, including the "Remain in Mexico" program, which required asylum seekers to wait in Mexico until their claims were heard.

In other news, over 2,800 confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported among unaccompanied minors at the U.S. border. “The positivity rate, in general, is what was anticipated and planning has resulted in a robust response,” an HHS spokesperson said in a statement. “Site staff are COVID-19 vaccinated, thoroughly trained on CDC protocols for donning and doffing PPE, and required to wear fit-tested masks and other CDC-recommended PPE at all times.”

On Tuesday, Biden summoned the Senate to move forward with two bills passed by the House that were brought forth to reduce gun violence, after deadly shootings in Atlanta and Boulder, Colorado broke out and claimed the lives of 10, including a police officer. Biden also called forth a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. "I want to be clear: those poor folks who died left behind families — leaves a big hole in their hearts," he said. "And we can save lives increasing the background checks like they're supposed to occur and eliminating assault weapons and the size of the magazines."