Biden transition officials say Trump officials delayed action on child migrant surge

[brooklynite]

NBC News

WASHINGTON — In early December, the Biden transition team and career government officials began sounding an alarm on the need to increase shelter space for the large number of migrant children expected to soon be crossing the border, but the Trump administration didn't take action until just days before the inauguration, according to two Biden transition officials and a U.S. official with knowledge of the discussions.

"They were sitting on their hands," said one of the transition officials, who does not currently work for the Biden administration and spoke on the condition of anonymity. "It was incredibly frustrating."

The Biden transition team made its concerns about the lack of shelter space known to Trump officials both at the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Homeland Security, laying out the need to open an influx shelter in Carrizo Springs, Texas, and to issue what's known as a "request for assistance" that would start the process of surveying new sites for expanded shelters, according to the transition officials.

It was not until Jan. 15 that then-HHS Secretary Alex Azar issued the request for assistance, which started the multiweek process of surveying and choosing new sites. The Biden administration opened the Carrizo Springs facility Feb. 22 and announced this week that it would be expanding the capacity of that site.

So which is it? There IS a surge, which Trump exacerbated, and Biden has to deal with it, or their ISN'T a surge and the media is just hyping the story?

[Iliyah]

1. For honesty .. ...

I'll believe Biden's transition team over media and the last effed up administration.

[JI7]

2. It can be both . The problem with the media reporting it is they are just repeating right wing

racist talking points and treating the issue as if it's a threat to the US.

[fescuerescue]

3. Whichever one is worse for Trump

[LizBeth]

4. From what I understand and makes sense, this is a seasonal surge. Better weather, easier travel,

higher number of people than the dead of winter.

[GoCubsGo]

5. It's an annual event that the media has decided not to ignore this year,

and that Trump made worse for multiple reasons, one of them being to make Biden look bad. There is a "surge" in migrants this time every year. The media ignores it every year, but since there's a Democrat in the White House, they have suddenly become interested in it. Not to the point where they're giving us an accurate assessment of the situation, however. Numbers of migrant children are actually down from the Trump years. They are not reporting this. But, they ARE conflating the unaccompanied minors situation with Trump's removing accompanied children from their parents and warehousing them. Nothing but their usual hype and sensationalizing. Most of them are also not reporting Azar's delays, much like they refuse to report the myriad of ways Trump gutted every department in the federal government.

[keithbvadu2]

6. 1+