Readout of Visit to the Border Region by Senior Administration Officials

by Jooyeun Chang, Norris Whitehouse Cochran IV, Marsha Espinosa, Jennifer Higgins, Cindy Huang, Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas, Esther Olavarria, Julissa Reynoso Pantaleón, Erin Pelton, Susan Elizabeth Rice, Julie Chávez Rodriguez, Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, Pili Tobar, and Katie Tobin

As part of the Administration’s commitment to restoring order and humanity to our immigration system, on Saturday, senior administration officials traveled to the Southwest border to visit a Department of Homeland Security Border Patrol facility and a Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement facility. During the visit, Senior administration officials received operational briefings, updates, and tours of the facilities. They discussed capacity needs given the number of unaccompanied children and families arriving at our border, the complex challenges with rebuilding our gutted border infrastructure and immigration system, as well as improvements that must be made in order to restore safe and efficient procedures to process, shelter, and place unaccompanied children with family or sponsors. Officials also discussed ways to ensure the fair and humane treatment of immigrant children and families, the safety of the workforce, and the wellbeing of communities nearby in the face of a global pandemic. Officials who participated on the trip will be briefing the President.

Senior Administration officials who participated in the trip:

• Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security
• Susan Rice, Domestic Policy Advisor (WH)
• Liz Sherwood-Randall, Deputy National Security Advisor (NSC)
• Julie Rodriguez, Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs (WH)
• Julissa Reynoso, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the First Lady (WH)
• Norris Cochran, Acting Secretary of Health and Human Services
• Esther Olavarria, Deputy Assistant to the President for Immigration (WH)
• Katie Tobin, Senior Director for Transborder (NSC)
• Erin Pelton, Senior Advisor to the Domestic Policy Advisor (WH)
• Pili Tobar, White House Deputy Communications Director (WH)
• Jennifer Higgins, DHS Associate Director for Refugee, Asylum, and International Operations
• Marsha Espinosa, DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs
• Jooyeun Chang, HHS ACF Head
• Cindy Huang, HHS ORR Head