Biden says border situation is normal: This "happens every year"
25 March 2021
President Biden on Thursday during his first presidential press briefing argued that the uptick in migrants arriving at America's southern border is cyclical, saying, "It happens every single solitary year."
What he's saying: Biden argued the cooler winter months provide ample conditions for migrants to flee their home countries. But data shows that immigration numbers are higher than usual, and that unaccompanied minors are arriving at rates that outpace border facilities' resources.
- According to Department of Homeland Security data released to reporters on Wednesday, there have been average of 455 kids crossing the border each day over the past 30 days — not including those from Mexico.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.