But what makes the current situation unique is the political context in which it is occurring: with Democrats wary of repeating the Obama-era deportation-heavy approach and Donald Trump’s policy of separating migrant children from their parents fresh in Americans’ minds. Whatever step Biden takes, confidantes predict, the criticism against him will be fierce.

“The headwinds now making it more difficult are coming from both directions,” said a former Biden adviser. “It is among the hardest challenges for the federal government because the law is insufficient, the resources are insufficient, the politics are terrible on both sides usually because of misinformation.”

Already Biden has felt that pinch. When reports surfaced that the administration opened a new shelter for children, some Democrats quickly compared his administration’s actions to Trump’s, who took a hard line against both illegal and legal immigration to the U.S.

“This is not okay, never has been okay, never will be okay — no matter the administration or party,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said about the emergency shelter for children.