Video caption: What can Joe Biden really change at the border?What can Joe Biden really change at the border?
Immigration was the top theme of Joe Biden's first press conference as president.
An increase in migrants at the southern US border, and an already backlogged demand for asylum, are testing his promises on tackling the issue.
The number of migrants detained at the border is on pace to hit 130,000 in March, up from 100,000 in February. A spike in unaccompanied minors crossing the border is also putting a strain on the immigration system.
The Biden administration has reversed a policy brought in under his predecessor, Donald Trump, that turned away unaccompanied children at the border.
Video by Joaquim Salles
Reality Check
Factcheck: How many troops are in Afghanistan?
Biden said he’s committed to continuing the withdrawal of all US forces from Afghanistan, but said “it’s going to be hard to meet the 1 May deadline…to get troops out.”
There are now around 2,500 US troops in Afghanistan which is the lowest level since 2011, as the US continues the process of drawing down its forces there.
Last August, there were about 8,000 US troops still in the country.
And at the peak of the war in 2011, there were 98,000 US troops in Afghanistan, according to the US Defense Department.
Last year President Donald Trump signed a deal that committed the US and Nato allies to withdrawing all troops by May this year if the Taliban upholds its promise to stop attacks.
Could vaccine pickiness frustrate Biden's plans?
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
One bit of news made during the press conference was that the president has now set a goal of delivering 200 million doses of vaccines into arms by his 100th day in office.
But one issue has the potential to frustrate his plans.
America has three vaccines approved for distribution, and people are getting picky about which they want.
Each of the three jabs - made by Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson - has been shown to be effective at preventing Covid-19 and, crucially, hospital admissions and death. Health officials have said the best vaccine is the one you're offered.
Still, there appears to be a preference growing for the Pfizer and Moderna jabs over the Johnson & Johnson option.
Some say they'd rather delay their vaccination than take Johnson & Johnson at all, potentially throwing a wrench into the distribution plans of community health officials.
"I had an appointment for a vaccine this week, and I cancelled it because I heard they were giving out Johnson & Johnson. I'm not taking [that vaccine] at all," one Washington DC resident told the BBC.
What's behind the preference for one jab over another?
Here are the big takeaways from Biden's first press conference since becoming president.
Vaccines are on their way: After greeting reporters, Biden began on a high note, announcing he would be doubling his initial promise to have 100 million vaccines administered in his first 100 days. "That’s right, 200 million shots in 100 days... no other country has come close to what we're doing."
A crisis at the border? Biden was pressed on the surge of migrants seeking entry at the US southern border. His response? That the problems are "cyclical", made worse by Donald Trump's administration. With Vice-President Kamala Harris as the newly named immigration czar, his policies will aim to "rebuild" he says.
The fili-what? Reporters asked several questions about the filibuster - a rule that requires 60 out of 100 Senators to pass major legislation. Some Democrats argue this rule should be changed to a simple majority, so the 50 Democrats in the chamber can push through a progressive agenda. Today, Biden said he was open to change but didn't get into specifics.
Biden 2024? The president also got multiple questions on if he'd seek re-election in 2024. The short answer: yes. The caveat: Biden said today he is a "great respecter of fate" - leaving some room for ambiguity.
North Korea has fired missiles twice in the past week. The first did not violate UN rules but this latest round of ballistic missiles does.
Pyongyang may be testing the new administration while waiting for more details on its policy. Biden didn’t give much away on that, but said he would be interested in some form of diplomacy if the end result was denuclearisation
What are conservatives saying?
South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a top Trump supporter, called Biden's first press conference "hard to watch" and rebuked the president over his handling of the border crisis.
"Some of these reporters are more intent on criticising Republicans than asking Potus legitimate questions," tweeted Republican pollster Frank Luntz, using an acronym for President of the United States.
Former White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany, who served at the end of the Trump administration, applauded one NBC reporter's question about when journalists would be able to access the child migrant camps.
"Those are confusing and unacceptable answers," she said about Biden's response, in which he declined to give a timeline.
President Biden said: “I know
it’s ambitious - twice our original goal. But no other country in the world has
even come close, not even close, to what we are doing".
The US has so far delivered
over 130 million doses of the vaccine - but it still lags behind in terms of
the number of jabs done relative to the size of the population.
BBCCopyright: BBC
Israel leads in terms of
vaccinating its population against the virus, followed by the United Arab
Emirates.
The US Centers for Disease
Control (CDC) recommends that doses are delivered according to those who are
most vulnerable to the disease, such as frontline workers and elderly people,
although each state makes its own rollout plan.
Currently, the US is vaccinating
at a rate of 2.5 million doses each day, according to CDC Director, Rochelle
Walensky.
The president’s appeal to middle America and beyond
Tara McKelvey
BBC News, White House Correspondent
Biden was nearly 15 minutes late, and seemed subdued. He sighed several times, and spoke haltingly. A reluctant star of his own press conference, he still managed to get his points across: he addressed his remarks to “hard-working people” and said he is fighting the pandemic, and that the economy is getting better.
“Help is here,” he said. “Hope is on the way.”
So far in office, he has enjoyed solid support, with more than half of the people in the US saying they approve of his work in office, according to the Pew Research Center. He focused on jobs, schools and families during his press conference, and spoke of assistance that he has offered to ordinary Americans.
His performance at this press conference is unlikely to win over critics: he offered nothing dramatically new, and seemed to lose his focus. Still, his remarks in the East Room will boost confidence among supporters: he may be a flawed speaker, but he is addressing the issues they care about.
The press conference is over
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
After an hour-long question and answer session Biden ends by saying: "Folks I'm going".
He adds, "I appreciate you," as journalists begin shouting their remaining questions as he leaves the room.
Biden takes his last questions
The president is being asked when his promises on immigration will materialise. His last two questions are about how long it will take to contact the parents and guardians of unaccompanied children, and how long it will take for root causes to be addressed.
“Our silence is complicity. We cannot be complicit. We have to speak out. We have to act," he said.
His remarks came in the wake of a mass shooting at three Atlanta-area massage parlours, which claimed the lives of eight people, including six Asian women.
There has been a surge in abuse of Asian Americans since the start of the pandemic.
From being spat on and verbally harassed to incidents of physical assault, there have been thousands of reported cases in recent months.
Amid nationwide rallies against anti-Asian hate crimes, we asked what it is like to be an Asian woman in the US:
Video content
Video caption: Anti-Asian hate: 'Try to be brave and stand up'Anti-Asian hate: 'Try to be brave and stand up'
Biden on gun control
Biden is asked about what he will do to tackle the issue of gun control, and whether he'll take executive action.
He's asked if he will ban so-called ghost guns - which are untraceable - send money to cities and states to tackle the problem on their own, or send legislation to Congress that holds firearms manufacturers accountable for crimes committed by gun owners.
"All of the above," he says vaguely, adding: "It's a matter of timing."
"Successful presidents know how to time what they're doing. Order it. Decide on priorities, what needs to be done," he says.
He then swiftly turns to the topic of transportation infrastructure, saying that he plans to announce a new initiative on it on Friday in Pittsburgh.
US troops probably won't leave Afghanistan by deadline
The Pentagon and State Department have been consumed by the issue of troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
A deadline of 1 May was set as part of a deal brokered under the Trump administration and it is fast approaching.
President Biden just gave one of the strongest indications so far that US troops will not be leaving Afghanistan by then.
"It will be hard to meet the May 1 deadline, for tactical reasons," he told reporters today, saying he would consult with allies and partners on how to end the war.
He added he does not picture US troops withdrawing entirely by next year at this time.
"There’s a UN led process that’s beginning...[to examine] how to end this war," he said.
The battle of the 21st century
Taking questions on China, Joe Biden lays out what he sees as the greatest battle of the 21st century: autocracy vs democracy.
"Your children or grandchildren are going to be doing their doctoral thesis on who succeeded," Biden says. "That is what is at stake...we're in the midst of a fourth industrial revolution."
"This is a battle between the utility of democracies in the 21st century and autocracies."
Biden has made some news
Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America reporter
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
So is this press conference generating news?
Biden has moved closer to supporting filibuster abolition. He says he expects he'll run for president in 2024. He has a goal of 200m vaccine shots by end of his first 100 days.
And the US is probably not getting out of Afghanistan by 1 May.
Yet the one area where he has not made news is on immigration.
He’s playing defence on that topic and seems interested in shifting attention elsewhere.
Biden questioned on China
Tara McKelvey
BBC News, White House reporter
Liberals in the US worry Biden and his advisors have been setting US-China relations on a dangerous course, towards an escalation in conflict.
Biden tried to tamp down these concerns today, telling a reporter he’s “not looking for confrontation”.
Reality Check
Factcheck: Do more people migrate in the winter months?
BBCCopyright: BBC
Earlier, Biden said: “There is a significant increase in the number of people coming in the border in the winter months of January, February, March. It happens every year”.
He said people are coming across because of the situations they face in their home countries and because it is easier to travel in the cooler winter months, compared to the hot summer.
The US Customs and Border Protection agency releases monthly figures of the number of “encounters” at the southwest land border.
In January and February 2021, 78,442 and 100,441 people were apprehended - this is a significant increase of the same months for the previous years, at just over 36,000 for those two months.
The highest number in the last few years was in May 2019 - over 140,000 people were apprehended by the authorities.
So, looking at the figures, the numbers of people apprehended at the border fluctuates greatly - but it doesn’t always appear to go up during the winter months.
Live Reporting
Edited by Marianna Brady
All times stated are UK
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images - Read about Biden's latest push for gun control
- Take a look at the problem facing Biden at the border
- Get a glimpse inside the Biden-era detention centres for immigrants
View more on twitterView more on twitter View more on twitterView more on twitter View more on twitterView more on twitter Video caption: What can Joe Biden really change at the border?What can Joe Biden really change at the border? 
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images 
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images - Vaccines are on their way: After greeting reporters, Biden began on a high note, announcing he would be doubling his initial promise to have 100 million vaccines administered in his first 100 days. "That’s right, 200 million shots in 100 days... no other country has come close to what we're doing."
- A crisis at the border? Biden was pressed on the surge of migrants seeking entry at the US southern border. His response? That the problems are "cyclical", made worse by Donald Trump's administration. With Vice-President Kamala Harris as the newly named immigration czar, his policies will aim to "rebuild" he says.
- The fili-what? Reporters asked several questions about the filibuster - a rule that requires 60 out of 100 Senators to pass major legislation. Some Democrats argue this rule should be changed to a simple majority, so the 50 Democrats in the chamber can push through a progressive agenda. Today, Biden said he was open to change but didn't get into specifics.
- Biden 2024? The president also got multiple questions on if he'd seek re-election in 2024. The short answer: yes. The caveat: Biden said today he is a "great respecter of fate" - leaving some room for ambiguity.
Video caption: Biden: 'My predecessor - oh God I miss him'Biden: 'My predecessor - oh God I miss him' 
View more on twitterView more on twitter View more on twitterView more on twitter 
BBCCopyright: BBC 
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images - What is a hate crime in the US?
- Covid 'hate crimes' against Asian Americans on rise
- Who were the victims in the Atlanta shootings?
Video caption: Anti-Asian hate: 'Try to be brave and stand up'Anti-Asian hate: 'Try to be brave and stand up' 
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images 
BBCCopyright: BBC
Latest PostThat's all folks
That's a wrap on our live coverage of President Joe Biden's first press conference as president.
Looking for more?
Today's live page was brought to you by Boer Deng, Marianna Brady, Holly Honderich, Max Matza and Sam Cabral
The question that wasn't asked...
Nothing on Covid-19?
That's the question on some people's mind - and on Twitter - after the president's first press conference.
After more than an hour with Biden, not a single reporter asked about the health crisis still plaguing the US.
Instead, most focused on Biden's political hurdles: immigration, diplomacy with China and the filibuster rule, which effects voting in the Senate.
What Biden faces at the border
Video content
Immigration was the top theme of Joe Biden's first press conference as president.
An increase in migrants at the southern US border, and an already backlogged demand for asylum, are testing his promises on tackling the issue.
The number of migrants detained at the border is on pace to hit 130,000 in March, up from 100,000 in February. A spike in unaccompanied minors crossing the border is also putting a strain on the immigration system.
The Biden administration has reversed a policy brought in under his predecessor, Donald Trump, that turned away unaccompanied children at the border.
Video by Joaquim Salles
Reality Check
Factcheck: How many troops are in Afghanistan?
Biden said he’s committed to continuing the withdrawal of all US forces from Afghanistan, but said “it’s going to be hard to meet the 1 May deadline…to get troops out.”
There are now around 2,500 US troops in Afghanistan which is the lowest level since 2011, as the US continues the process of drawing down its forces there.
Last August, there were about 8,000 US troops still in the country.
And at the peak of the war in 2011, there were 98,000 US troops in Afghanistan, according to the US Defense Department.
Last year President Donald Trump signed a deal that committed the US and Nato allies to withdrawing all troops by May this year if the Taliban upholds its promise to stop attacks.
Could vaccine pickiness frustrate Biden's plans?
One bit of news made during the press conference was that the president has now set a goal of delivering 200 million doses of vaccines into arms by his 100th day in office.
But one issue has the potential to frustrate his plans.
America has three vaccines approved for distribution, and people are getting picky about which they want.
Each of the three jabs - made by Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson - has been shown to be effective at preventing Covid-19 and, crucially, hospital admissions and death. Health officials have said the best vaccine is the one you're offered.
Still, there appears to be a preference growing for the Pfizer and Moderna jabs over the Johnson & Johnson option.
Some say they'd rather delay their vaccination than take Johnson & Johnson at all, potentially throwing a wrench into the distribution plans of community health officials.
"I had an appointment for a vaccine this week, and I cancelled it because I heard they were giving out Johnson & Johnson. I'm not taking [that vaccine] at all," one Washington DC resident told the BBC.
What's behind the preference for one jab over another?
Ready more:
Covid vaccines: Why some Americans are choosy about their jab
Just catching up?
Here are the big takeaways from Biden's first press conference since becoming president.
Biden on Trump: 'My predecessor - oh God I miss him'
Video content
Biden discusses former President Trump and confirms that he plans to run for re-election in 2024.
Biden mostly mum on North Korea
Barbara Plett Usher
BBC News, Washington
North Korea has fired missiles twice in the past week. The first did not violate UN rules but this latest round of ballistic missiles does.
Pyongyang may be testing the new administration while waiting for more details on its policy. Biden didn’t give much away on that, but said he would be interested in some form of diplomacy if the end result was denuclearisation
What are conservatives saying?
South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a top Trump supporter, called Biden's first press conference "hard to watch" and rebuked the president over his handling of the border crisis.
"Some of these reporters are more intent on criticising Republicans than asking Potus legitimate questions," tweeted Republican pollster Frank Luntz, using an acronym for President of the United States.
Former White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany, who served at the end of the Trump administration, applauded one NBC reporter's question about when journalists would be able to access the child migrant camps.
"Those are confusing and unacceptable answers," she said about Biden's response, in which he declined to give a timeline.
Reality Check
Factcheck: Has the US vaccinated the most people?
President Biden said: “I know it’s ambitious - twice our original goal. But no other country in the world has even come close, not even close, to what we are doing".
The US has so far delivered over 130 million doses of the vaccine - but it still lags behind in terms of the number of jabs done relative to the size of the population.
Israel leads in terms of vaccinating its population against the virus, followed by the United Arab Emirates.
The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that doses are delivered according to those who are most vulnerable to the disease, such as frontline workers and elderly people, although each state makes its own rollout plan.
Currently, the US is vaccinating at a rate of 2.5 million doses each day, according to CDC Director, Rochelle Walensky.
The president’s appeal to middle America and beyond
Tara McKelvey
BBC News, White House Correspondent
Biden was nearly 15 minutes late, and seemed subdued. He sighed several times, and spoke haltingly. A reluctant star of his own press conference, he still managed to get his points across: he addressed his remarks to “hard-working people” and said he is fighting the pandemic, and that the economy is getting better.
“Help is here,” he said. “Hope is on the way.”
So far in office, he has enjoyed solid support, with more than half of the people in the US saying they approve of his work in office, according to the Pew Research Center. He focused on jobs, schools and families during his press conference, and spoke of assistance that he has offered to ordinary Americans.
His performance at this press conference is unlikely to win over critics: he offered nothing dramatically new, and seemed to lose his focus. Still, his remarks in the East Room will boost confidence among supporters: he may be a flawed speaker, but he is addressing the issues they care about.
The press conference is over
After an hour-long question and answer session Biden ends by saying: "Folks I'm going".
He adds, "I appreciate you," as journalists begin shouting their remaining questions as he leaves the room.
Biden takes his last questions
The president is being asked when his promises on immigration will materialise. His last two questions are about how long it will take to contact the parents and guardians of unaccompanied children, and how long it will take for root causes to be addressed.
What has Biden said about the Atlanta shooting?
In Atlanta last week, Biden called on the US to unite against hate and speak out about violence targeting Asian Americans.
“Our silence is complicity. We cannot be complicit. We have to speak out. We have to act," he said.
His remarks came in the wake of a mass shooting at three Atlanta-area massage parlours, which claimed the lives of eight people, including six Asian women.
There has been a surge in abuse of Asian Americans since the start of the pandemic.
From being spat on and verbally harassed to incidents of physical assault, there have been thousands of reported cases in recent months.
Amid nationwide rallies against anti-Asian hate crimes, we asked what it is like to be an Asian woman in the US:
Video content
Biden on gun control
Biden is asked about what he will do to tackle the issue of gun control, and whether he'll take executive action.
He's asked if he will ban so-called ghost guns - which are untraceable - send money to cities and states to tackle the problem on their own, or send legislation to Congress that holds firearms manufacturers accountable for crimes committed by gun owners.
"All of the above," he says vaguely, adding: "It's a matter of timing."
"Successful presidents know how to time what they're doing. Order it. Decide on priorities, what needs to be done," he says.
He then swiftly turns to the topic of transportation infrastructure, saying that he plans to announce a new initiative on it on Friday in Pittsburgh.
US troops probably won't leave Afghanistan by deadline
Barbara Plett Usher
BBC State Department correspondent
The Pentagon and State Department have been consumed by the issue of troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
A deadline of 1 May was set as part of a deal brokered under the Trump administration and it is fast approaching.
President Biden just gave one of the strongest indications so far that US troops will not be leaving Afghanistan by then.
"It will be hard to meet the May 1 deadline, for tactical reasons," he told reporters today, saying he would consult with allies and partners on how to end the war.
He added he does not picture US troops withdrawing entirely by next year at this time.
"There’s a UN led process that’s beginning...[to examine] how to end this war," he said.
The battle of the 21st century
Taking questions on China, Joe Biden lays out what he sees as the greatest battle of the 21st century: autocracy vs democracy.
"Your children or grandchildren are going to be doing their doctoral thesis on who succeeded," Biden says. "That is what is at stake...we're in the midst of a fourth industrial revolution."
"This is a battle between the utility of democracies in the 21st century and autocracies."
Biden has made some news
Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America reporter
So is this press conference generating news?
Biden has moved closer to supporting filibuster abolition. He says he expects he'll run for president in 2024. He has a goal of 200m vaccine shots by end of his first 100 days.
And the US is probably not getting out of Afghanistan by 1 May.
Yet the one area where he has not made news is on immigration.
He’s playing defence on that topic and seems interested in shifting attention elsewhere.
Biden questioned on China
Tara McKelvey
BBC News, White House reporter
Liberals in the US worry Biden and his advisors have been setting US-China relations on a dangerous course, towards an escalation in conflict.
Biden tried to tamp down these concerns today, telling a reporter he’s “not looking for confrontation”.
Reality Check
Factcheck: Do more people migrate in the winter months?
Earlier, Biden said: “There is a significant increase in the number of people coming in the border in the winter months of January, February, March. It happens every year”.
He said people are coming across because of the situations they face in their home countries and because it is easier to travel in the cooler winter months, compared to the hot summer.
The US Customs and Border Protection agency releases monthly figures of the number of “encounters” at the southwest land border.
In January and February 2021, 78,442 and 100,441 people were apprehended - this is a significant increase of the same months for the previous years, at just over 36,000 for those two months.
The highest number in the last few years was in May 2019 - over 140,000 people were apprehended by the authorities.
So, looking at the figures, the numbers of people apprehended at the border fluctuates greatly - but it doesn’t always appear to go up during the winter months.