Special Assistant to the President and Coordinator for the Southern Border, Ambassador Roberta Jacobson, speaks during a press briefing on March 10, 2021, in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
President Joe Biden’s coordinator for the southern Border Roberta Jacobson will leave her post at the end of April, the White House announced Friday.
“Consistent with her commitment at the outset to serve in the administration’s first 100 days, Ambassador Jacobson will retire from her role as coordinator at the end of this month,” White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement.
Jacobson’s departure comes as the Biden administration works to address an increase in migrants apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border, including a record number of unaccompanied children crossing the border in March — more than 60% higher than the previous record in 2019.
Many migrants are coming from Central America, where natural disasters, food insecurity and violence are among many complex reasons pushing them to seek refuge in the U.S.
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.
