U.S. President Joe Biden is struggling to head off a potential humanitarian and political crisis on the U.S. southern border, where a spike in migrant crossings — particularly by unaccompanied children — threatens to overwhelm government shelters.
White House officials briefed Biden earlier this week on the surge, and the administration has held multiple briefings with House of Representatives and Senate lawmakers on the situation, according to congressional aides. Homeland Security officials are giving weekly updates to several Capitol Hill offices.
"We’ll be able to handle it, God willing,” Biden said Tuesday. But asked whether the surge constituted a crisis, the president was clear: "No.”