Ambassador Roberta Jacobson, special assistant to the president and coordinator of the southern border, speaks during a press conference on March 10, 2021 in the Brady Information Room of the White House in Washington, DC.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
Presidential Coordinator Joe Biden on the southern border Roberta Jacobson will step down in late April, the White House announced Friday.
“In accordance with its initial commitment to serve during the first 100 days of the administration, Ambassador Jacobson will retire from her role as coordinator later this month,” the security adviser said in a statement. White House national, Jake Sullivan.
Jacobson’s departure comes as the Biden administration works to address an increase in migrants captured on the U.S.-Mexico border, including a record number of unaccompanied children crossing the border in March, more than one 60% more than the previous record of 2019.
Many migrants come from Central America, where natural disasters, food insecurity, and violence are among many complex reasons that push them to seek refuge in the United States.
Biden appointed Vice President Kamala Harris to lead diplomatic efforts with Mexico and the Central American nations of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador on March 24.
“They continue to lead to the architecture that the president has designed: an immigration system that is humane, orderly and secure,” Jacobson, a former ambassador to Mexico, told The New York Times, which reported for the first time since his scheduled departure. “I am leaving with optimism. The political direction is so clear for our country.”
Jacobson traveled to Mexico in March to meet with government officials on migration and has represented the White House at press meetings.