The White House recants: situation at the border is not a "crisis"

Fewer unaccompanied children in custody in the US 0:39

(CNN) -

The White House retracted Monday after President Joe Biden described the influx of immigrant children to the country's southern border over the weekend as a "crisis," in what appeared to be a notable shift from the language.

The president's use of the label "crisis" does not represent the official position of the administration, the White House said Monday.

It is a term that high-ranking government officials have refused to use as the number of immigrants increases.

Biden spoke to reporters after a round of golf at the Wilmington Country Club on Saturday.

There they asked him about the limit of refugees admitted to the US in the current fiscal year.

This is how minors are found in a processing center 1:11

«We are going to increase the number.

The problem is that the part assigned to refugees was working on the crisis that occurred at the border with young people and we could not do two things at the same time.

And now we are going to increase the number, ”said Biden.

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This Monday, the White House tried to downplay those words.

It alleged that Biden was referring to conditions in the Northern Triangle countries from which immigrants come and not to the increase in immigrant minors in US custody.

'There is no change of position,' says official

No, there is no change in position.

Children who come to our border seeking refuge from violence, economic hardship and other dire circumstances are not a crisis, "a White House official told CNN.

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The official said that Biden “was referring to the crisis in Central America, to the dire circumstances from which many are fleeing.

He was not referring to the response of the federal government.

San Diego houses at least 500 unaccompanied minors 3:48

That official added: “The response and the process of the federal government have focused on finding solutions that allow us to address these root causes, expand capacity space and quickly transfer children to their families.

We remain focused on getting children out of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilities to proper facilities and ultimately reuniting them with family members or sponsors who are safe and have been investigated ».

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White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki made the same distinction Monday afternoon.

“The president does not view children who come to our border seeking refuge from violence, economic hardship and other dire circumstances to be a crisis.

What he does believe is that the crisis in Central America, the terrible circumstances from which many are fleeing, is a situation to which we have to dedicate our time and effort and to which we have to face if we want to avoid a greater influx of immigrants in the years to come, "said Psaki at the press conference on Monday.

What had officials previously said?

Biden's use of the word "crisis" to describe the situation at the border came after Psaki, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, and Roberta Jacobson, the official who oversees the southern border, met. they will refuse to classify it as such throughout March.

This was a point where Psaki and others were pressured by journalists on at least nine occasions.

The number of immigrants on the southern border was increasing steadily in the first weeks of the Biden administration.

In February, more than 100,000 migrants were found at the border, a number that rose to more than 172,000 in March.

Childhood at risk of migrant children in Latin America 1:17

That increase included a growing number of families and children.

The number of unaccompanied minors in the custody of CBP, an agency that is not meant to care for children for extended periods, reached dramatic highs during March.

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Psaki refused to "put new labels" when asked if the government had a crisis at the border on February 25.

On March 1, Mayorkas emphatically said "the answer is no" when asked if there was a crisis.

Instead, he said, there is a "challenge on the border that we are managing."

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On March 2, Psaki reiterated that the administration would "address this without labeling."

He refused to describe it as a crisis again on March 5, March 9 and March 10 when asked directly if he would use the word "crisis" to describe the situation.

As of March 9, there were more than 3,200 unaccompanied minors in custody, according to internal agency documents reviewed by CNN.

Jacobson reiterated that position on March 10.

At the time she said, "I'm not trying to be resourceful here, but I think the fact of the matter is: we have to do what we do regardless of what the situation is called."

On March 11, when there were about 4,500 children in CBP custody, Psaki told CNN's Kaitlan Collins, “It doesn't matter what it's called.

It is a huge challenge.

Keys to understanding mass migration to the US 3:23

On March 18, Psaki did briefly describe the situation as a "crisis at the border," but when asked later in the briefing if there was a change in the administration's view, he clarified that there were "challenges at the border. . »

Pressed once again on March 22, Psaki said: “Children who show up at our border and who are fleeing violence, fleeing persecution, fleeing dire situations, are not a crisis.

We feel that it is our responsibility to humanely address this circumstance and make sure they are treated and placed in conditions that are safe.

He then claimed that the administration's focus was on "solutions."

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The number of immigrant minors in custody in the United States.

The number of minors in the custody of the CPB peaked at nearly 5,800 on March 28.

That number has dropped significantly since then, as the administration enhanced efforts to transfer minors from CBP's jail-like facilities into the hands of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), a better equipped department to take care of them.

As of last week, there were 2,515 minors in CBP custody.

However, the average CBP custody time for unaccompanied immigrant minors remains well above the legal limit of 72 hours.

In fact, it is around 122 hours, according to data obtained by CNN.

HHS oversees a network of shelters for immigrant children and has opened a number of pop-up sites to house children until they can be released to a guardian, such as a parent or relative, in the United States.

As a result, the number of minors in HHS custody has grown.

As of last week, there were 19,798 minors in his custody.

- CNN's Priscilla Álvarez contributed to this report.

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