Biden restarts program for migrant kids amid surge

Border patrol and Texas law enforcement continued rounding up migrant families and children illegally crossing into the United States from Mexico this week, as President Joe Biden's administration races to deal with the influx of migrants, while also reversing some of former President Donald Trump's more restrictive policies.

"Today we are announcing the restarting of the Central American Minors program for children..."

Roberta Jacobson, Biden's border czar, told reporters on Wednesday that the administration is restarting a program Trump had ended, which allows children fleeing violence in some countries to join relatives in the U.S.

"The border is not open."

But she stressed that restarting the "CAM" program, as it's called, was not an invitation for migrant families to come to the U.S.-Mexico border...

"It's really important that people not make the dangerous journey in the first place..."

...even breaking into Spanish to drive the point home.

"Así que yo creo que muy importante..."

Mixed messaging by the White House has led to criticism from Republicans that Biden is encouraging migrants to try to reach sanctuary in the U.S.

Meanwhile, Democrats are complaining that Biden is not moving fast enough to release children from Border Patrol custody.

A senior official from U.S. Customs and Border Protection said agents detained more than 100,000 migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border in February, the highest monthly total since a major border surge in mid-2019.

More than 19,000 of those encounters were families, and close to 9,500 were unaccompanied minors.