Axios Sneak Peek: Exclusive — Harris steps up migrant action ... Scoop — Government pays way for some migrant sponsors

Plus: Bipartisan Senate group seeks immigration deals | Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Open in app View in browser   Presented By PhRMA   Axios Sneak Peek By Alayna Treene, Hans Nichols and Kadia Goba ·Apr 21, 2021 Welcome back to Sneak. Congress refocused its attention inside the Capitol. ⚡ Situational Awareness: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy will announce as early as tomorrow who will deliver the Republican rebuttal to President Biden's joint address next week, Axios' Alayna Treene reports. Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to New Hampshire on Friday, making stops in Plymouth and Concord, the White House said. Today's newsletter — edited by Glen Johnson — is 590 words, a 2-minute read.     1 big thing: Exclusive — Harris meets Guatemalan president Monday, travels in June Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images   Vice President Kamala Harris will meet virtually Monday with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei to discuss solutions to the surge of migration, and she'll visit the region in June, a senior White House official told Axios' Stef Kight. Why it matters: The administration is taking a multi-pronged approach to solving the problem and also hopes to announce details about its plan for investing aid in Central America on Monday — although a final dollar amount has yet to be decided. Harris has been tapped to lead the U.S. negotiations with Central American countries. She and President Giammattei last spoke on March 30th. One of the topics for Monday's meeting will be relief needs of Guatemalans, the official said. The next day, Harris will participate in a virtual roundtable with representatives from Guatemalan community-based organizations, hosted by the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City. Keep reading.     2. Scoop: Government pays for some sponsors to pick up migrant kids MIgrant minors play soccer at a holding facility in Donna, Texas. Photo: Dario Lopez-Mills/AFP via Getty Images   The federal government has been paying travel costs for adult sponsors trying to get to shelters to pick up migrant children, a Department of Health and Human Services agency spokesperson confirmed to Stef. Why it matters: Officials would not provide numbers, but the policy shift underscores the urgency the Biden administration feels to quickly release kids who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border alone and remain in HHS custody. Despite efforts by the Administration for Children and Families to speed up the process of vetting sponsors and releasing kids, the total number of children and teens in the agency's network of shelters continues to rise — recently surpassing 20,000. HHS, which oversees ACF and the child migrant program, has been criticized for not doing enough, fast enough, to lower the population of minors in its custody. Keep reading.     3. Bipartisan Senate group seeks immigration deals Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). Photo: Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images   A bipartisan group of senators that met privately Wednesday agreed to have their staffs draft a document outlining incremental immigration changes so they "can build from there," Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) told Alayna. Why it matters: The Republicans and Democrats recognize that Congress has failed numerous times to pass comprehensive reform, so now they're looking for a starting point amid a migrant surge at the southern border. Behind the scenes: The group, led by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), met behind closed doors in the Mansfield Room, steps away from the Senate floor. Attendees included Cornyn and Durbin, as well as Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) called in. The biggest areas of consensus were protections for so-called Dreamers and preserving the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), according to a source familiar with the discussion. Keep reading.     A message from PhRMA Instead of breaking what works, let's fix what's broken     America's unique R&D ecosystem delivered multiple COVID-19 medical breakthroughs in recordbreaking time. As we continue our work to help end the pandemic, we have a common sense plan for better, more affordable health care — for everyone.     4. Danger lurks in the Democrats' police talk House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats celebrate last June after they passed the George Floyd Policing Act. Photo: Ting Shen/Xinhua via Getty Images   As Congress forges ahead with police reform legislation, Democratic operatives are warning lawmakers to steer clear of any defund-the-police rhetoric since it could hurt them in the midterms, Axios' Jonathan Swan and Hans Nichols report. Why it matters: President Biden and his fellow Democrats say Congress needs to pass the George Floyd Policing Act, which would ban chokeholds, prohibit no-knock warrants and generally make it easier to hold officers accountable for misconduct. The big picture: While polls suggest the George Floyd legislation, which passed the House, is broadly popular, the nuts and bolts of changing how police departments operate will take place at the local level. Calls by activists to "defund" police departments can — and have — hurt Democrats in tight races, Celinda Lake, a pollster who does work for the Democratic National Committee, told Axios. "You have voters that do not want to 'defund the police,' but they do want change in policing," she said. Flashback: After Democrats lost House seats in November, some centrist lawmakers like Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) blamed anti-police rhetoric. Keep reading.     5. Pics du jour Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images   Coronavirus limits forced photographers to use their long lenses as they shot pictures outside a news conference at the Capitol about D.C. statehood.     A message from PhRMA Instead of breaking what works, let's fix what's broken     America's unique R&D ecosystem delivered multiple COVID-19 medical breakthroughs in recordbreaking time. As we continue our work to help end the pandemic, we have a common sense plan for better, more affordable health care — for everyone.   👏 Thanks for reading tonight's Sneak. Remember, you can sign up for email delivery through this link. This newsletter is written in Smart Brevity®. Learn how your team can communicate in the same smart, clear style with Axios HQ.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. 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