Tensions rise within Biden administration as migrant kids crowd shelters

In daily calls with representatives from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and other agencies, White House officials have demanded HHS speed up releases from its overloaded shelter system to free up space for children packed into crowded border patrol stations, the officials said. HHS is in charge of housing the migrant children and vetting potential U.S. sponsors, often parents and close relatives, who seek to take them in. The pressure on HHS comes as the administration is scrambling to open shelters to house children - mostly from Central America - who are crossing the border in record numbers, deepening a humanitarian crisis for Biden that is one of his first major tests in office. The main White House aides exerting pressure on HHS are Susan Rice, Biden’s domestic policy adviser and a powerful voice within the administration, and Amy Pope, a senior adviser for migration hired last month to help deal with the escalating situation at the southern border, said two of the three officials. All were familiar with the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.