![](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2021\/04\/19\/USAT\/2b250baf-b7da-4925-8754-7b9f2fac5536-joe_biden_golf.jpg?width=180&height=240&fit=bounds&auto=webp\")
<\/p>\nWASHINGTON\u00a0\u2014 The White House backtracked after President Joe Biden referred to the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border as a\u00a0“crisis” over the weekend, arguing Monday he meant the conditions in\u00a0Central America that have led more people to flee.<\/p>\n
Biden used the word “crisis” \u2013 a descriptor his\u00a0administration has avoided since taking office\u00a0\u2013 on Saturday after a round of golf in Wilmington, Delaware,\u00a0while speaking to reporters. He was explaining why he initially indicated Friday he would keep a Trump-era cap on refugees in place, only to announce plans to increase the number hours later.<\/p>\n
“We’re gonna increase the numbers,” Biden said.\u00a0“The problem was that the refugee part was working on the crisis that ended up on the border with young people and we couldn’t do two things at once.\u00a0And now we’re going to increase the numbers.”<\/p>\n
White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Monday recited the administration’s\u00a0long-standing position when asked whether the White House now believes\u00a0there’s a “crisis” at the border.<\/p>\n
“The president does not feel that children coming to our border seeking refuge from violence, economic hardships and other dire circumstances is a crisis,” she said.<\/p>\n
Psaki added: “He does feel that the crisis in Central America, the dire circumstances that many are fleeing from\u00a0\u2013\u00a0that that is a situation we need to spend our time on, our effort on. And we need to address it if we’re going to prevent more of an influx of migrants coming in years to come.”<\/p>\n
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US President Joe Biden waves after a round of golf at Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, DE, on April 17, 2021. – (Photo: JIM WATSON, AFP via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n Republicans pounced on Biden’s shift in terminology and Psaki’s response to it.<\/p>\n “Biden\u2019s Press Secretary Jen Psaki claims Biden does not view border influx as a ‘crisis’\u00a0after he called it a ‘crisis’, the Republican National Committee tweeted.\u00a0<\/p>\n “If the White House is looking for new options to replace Biden’s word choice of ‘crisis,’\u00a0here are a few alternatives to pick from,” tweeted Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C.\u00a0“1. Disaster 2. Catastrophe 3. Failure Take your pick. All are accurate.”<\/p>\n Biden is facing increasing heat\u00a0from Republicans as thousands of people, many of them unaccompanied children, have sought to enter the U.S. along the Mexico border. U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountered more than 172,000 people trying to enter the U.S. along the southwest border in March,\u00a0up from the 100,441 in February, according to Biden administration officials’ analysis of the numbers,<\/p>\n While Biden has enjoyed positive approval ratings during his first 88 days, he’s gotten poor marks for his handling of waves of unaccompanied children at the border. A recent poll from AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found 40% of Americans disapprove of Biden\u2019s handling of children reaching the nation\u2019s southern border without their parents, compared with just 24% who approve. Thirty-five percent don\u2019t have an opinion either way.<\/p>\n As the number of migrants from Northern Triangle countries at the border has increased, the White House has fought the “crisis” label aggressively. Psaki refused to call it a crisis as recently as\u00a0March 22, delivering a statement much like the one\u00a0she gave Monday.\u00a0<\/p>\n “The answer is no,” Homeland Security Security\u00a0Alejandro Mayorkas said March 1 on whether there is a crisis at the border. “I think there is a challenge at the border that we are managing, and we have our resources dedicated to managing it.”<\/p>\n TIJUANA, MEXICO – FEBRUARY 19: El Salvador and Honduras nationals seeking asylum in the United States sit outside the El Chaparral border crossing on February 19, 2021 in Tijuana, Mexico. Those seeking asylum have been waiting months and years in Tijuana and other locations to be allowed into the U.S. to petition for asylum. Starting today, a small group out of an estimated 25,000 asylum seekers with active cases will be allowed into the U.S., a Biden administration move reversing a Trump administration immigration policy that was informally referred to as "Remain in Mexico." (Photo by Mario Tama\/Getty Images) (Photo: Mario Tama, Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n In regard to refugees,\u00a0the White House\u00a0initially said Friday that\u00a0Biden would\u00a0sign an emergency\u00a0determination that would maintain the fiscal year’s target of 15,000 refugee admissions \u2014\u00a0a historically low number set under President Donald Trump.\u00a0<\/p>\n But after a fierce backlash from Democrats and immigrant advocates, the White House made clear that it expects the president to set a final, increased refugee cap by May 15.<\/p>\n Psaki on Monday said “people\u00a0weren’t understanding what we were conveying to the public,” insisting the administration did not reverse its position. She noted that an emergency determination that Biden signed keeping the cap at 15,000 also contained a caveat that said\u00a0“a subsequent presidential determination may be issued to increase admissions, as appropriate.”<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2021\/04\/13\/USAT\/25714676-cefc-43c7-b2b2-fbc6445f4a9a-GettyImages-1303064313.jpg?width=540&height=&fit=bounds&auto=webp\")
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