Kamala Harris ducks migrant youth border surge. Is Xavier Becerra up to the task?

In March, Xavier Becerra returned triumphantly to Washington as President Joe Biden’s secretary of Health and Human Services. In April, it appears that the president may already be regretting the appointment.

Stories in Politico and the New York Times depict the Biden administration as frustrated with Becerra’s slow response to a surge of unaccompanied immigrant minors arriving at the southern border. Over 18,000 migrant youths crossed the border in March and many more are on the way. Biden wants Becerra to speed up efforts to get them out of crowded U.S Customs and Border Protection detention centers and into more humane HHS-run facilities.

“Top White House officials have grown increasingly frustrated with Health Secretary Xavier Becerra over his department’s sluggish effort to house thousands of unaccompanied minors, as the administration grapples with a record number of children crossing the southern border,” reported Politico on April 16.

On April 10, the Times reported that Biden had directly “expressed frustration” with Becerra in a White House meeting “for what the president views as bureaucratic holdups in increasing capacity.”

Perhaps the Biden administration should have done its homework before putting Becerra in a position where he’s expected to make quick decisions on tough, high-profile issues. As I’ve written before, Becerra delivered a lackluster performance as California attorney general.

Opinion

Specifically, he ducked on the issue of police reform at a time when — amid the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement and major protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd and others — he should have provided strong leadership. Time and again, Becerra stood on the sidelines, or on the wrong side, of critical police reforms. He revealed himself as an overly cautious politician who is always ready with a bureaucratic excuse for inaction.

Biden didn’t pick Becerra for the role of United States attorney general. But he did appoint Becerra to a position in which he has equal potential to disappoint high expectations. At HHS, Becerra is charged with providing shelter and care for the young immigrants until they can be reunified with relatives or processed for entry into the U.S.

The number of unaccompanied minors fleeing poverty, climate change and violence in Latin America has reached record levels now that Donald Trump is out of office. Trump, an anti-immigration hardliner, made a show out of locking children in cages in an effort to deter them from crossing the border. Democrats criticized Trump’s approach and promised to do better. The border surge has made this promise hard to keep.

On March 22, four days after Becerra’s confirmation, Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas released photos showing migrant children living in deplorable conditions in the border town of Donna. Cuellar described the facility as “terrible conditions for children” and urged HHS to act. The photos opened Biden up to charges of hypocrisy since it appeared his administration was replicating his predecessor’s harsh treatment of young migrants.

To be fair, Becerra has only been in the role for one month and it’s too soon to render a verdict on his performance. That’s why it’s surprising to see an apparent effort by some in the Biden administration to plant negative stories on him. The leaked tales of Biden’s frustration seem like a clear signal that the secretary needs to step up — or expect more knives in the back.

Welcome back to Washington, Mr. Secretary.

Becerra does have defenders. Last weekend, Christine Pelosi took to Twitter to throw shade at whoever is behind the Becerra leaks.

“What a jerk!” Pelosi tweeted. “@POTUS has a rat in his ranks disrespecting his HHS Secretary. As a former presidential administration official myself, I can assure you that screwing your colleagues in the press is bad for your boss and you. Say it on the record or shut it.”

Harsh words, but they don’t exactly dispel the notion that Becerra’s in trouble.

As one who has been critical of Becerra, I have to say that I sympathize with him. He just took the reins of a massive agency and he’s already under fire. Eight current and former administration officials told Politico he’s been “slow to take charge” of the border crisis.

“He did not fully appreciate the issue when he first came in,” one senior administration official told Politico. “It’s been a steep learning curve for him.”

Hopefully, Biden will give Becerra a second month before drawing any conclusions. The border surge vexes even the best of Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris. After Biden put Harris in charge of diplomatic efforts with El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras — the so-called Northern Triangle countries fueling the migrant surge — she found herself under attack.

“So now that Kamala Harris is in charge of the border crisis, can we finally get an answer on when she’ll visit the border? Or is she still laughing about it?” Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel tweeted, referring to a March interview in which Harris laughed and said “not today” when asked if she would be visiting Mexico.

“Republicans have been eager to saddle Harris with responsibility for the entire border, including the images of overcrowded rooms with children sleeping on mats and foil blankets, which has the potential not only to drag down Biden’s popularity but also to tarnish Harris’ future prospects,” reported the Los Angeles Times.

“I will just reiterate that the vice president is not doing the border,” said Harris’ spokeswoman, distancing the VP from the mess that Becerra now owns.

So much for California leadership.

Becerra has pulled the short straw. His latest stint in Washington may also prove short if he can’t meet Biden’s demands — quickly.