Here is how events are unfolding. All times Eastern.
Feb 02, 2021, 6:38 PM EST
Mayorkas participates in ceremonial swearing-in with Harris
New Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas participated in a ceremonial swearing-in with Vice President Kamala Harris following his Senate confirmation and Biden signing immigration executive orders on Tuesday.
Vice President Kamala Harris swears in Alejandro Mayorkas as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, accompanied by his wife Tanya Mayorkas, Feb. 2, 2021, at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
The ceremony took place in the office of the vice president in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, adjacent to the White House. Mayorkas was joined by his wife Tanya and daughters, Giselle and Amelia.
Mayorkas is the first immigrant and first Latino to lead the Department of Homeland Security.
Biden has signed three executive orders aimed at reforming the U.S. immigration system and rolling back his predecessor’s policies, including creating a task force aimed at reuniting children whom American authorities separated from their families on the border -- a policy which Biden called a "moral and national shame."
President Joe Biden signs executive orders related to immigration in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, Feb. 2, 2021.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
Chaired by the homeland security secretary, the task force will work to identify all families broken apart under the various forms of the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance policy,” which separated children from relatives at the U.S. border, even before it became an official policy. It aims to manage family reunifications on a case-by-case basis, making different immigration benefit determinations for different families, a White House official said Monday.
Biden signed another order directing his administration to address the root causes of migration from Central America and to have the secretary of homeland security review the Trump administration’s Migrant Protection Protocols program, under which asylum seekers are sent to Mexico to wait for court appearances north of the border, the White House said. The third order calls for a review of the “public charge” rule former President Donald Trump tried to use to limit poor immigrants from coming to the country legally, according to the White House.
-ABC News' Ben Gittleson and Quinn Owen
Feb 02, 2021, 4:37 PM EST
State Department spokesperson promises daily briefings
At State Department spokesperson Ned Price's first department briefing, he announced a return to the once-daily briefing that was often skipped and then totally stopped under the Trump administration shortly after impeachment proceedings began.
"We're putting the daily back in the daily press briefing," Price said in a stiff, direct-to-teleprompter opening. He committed to "always operate in good faith," to get Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other top officials to the podium.
State Department spokesman Ned Price speaks at his first daily press briefing at the State Department in Washington, DC, Feb. 2, 2021.
Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images
In another difference from the previous department under Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Price said the agency will "welcome" an "engaged, active press corps to hold our feet to the fire."
Price is the first openly gay spokesperson for the State Department, which advocates say sends a potent message to foreign LGBTQ activists, especially those fighting in countries where same-sex relationships are still criminalized.
-ABC News' Conor Finnegan
Feb 02, 2021, 4:14 PM EST
White House says administration starting at ‘square one’ on family reunification
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki held a wide-ranging briefing with reporters Tuesday in which she addressed bipartisan negotiations on COVID-19 following Biden's two-hour meeting with GOP senators in the Oval Office Monday and his latest immigration executive actions.
When ABC News' Senior White House Correspondent Mary Bruce asked about the realistic opportunity for compromise on relief legislation, Psaki said there are some "bottom lines" Biden will not budge on.
On Biden's immigration executive orders expected later Tuesday, Psaki responded to Bruce, who raised the criticism that the orders initiate "reviews" of Trump's most restrictive policies rather than recalling them. Psaki argued the administration needed to see where things stand first to move forward.
“Part of our effort, Mary, is to assess the damage that has been done by the policies that were put in place by the prior administration. We want to act swiftly. We want to act promptly, but we also need to make sure we're doing that through a strategic policy process,” she said.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Feb. 2, 2021, in Washington.
Evan Vucci/AP
Psaki also promised a review within 120 days and every 60 days after on the progress the administration is making on reuniting families that were separated at the Southern border.
“We need to find out first where all these kids are and figure out where their parents are. And so, we're starting at, you know, square one here, but our team wants to ensure that we are providing an update on what progress is being made,” Psaki added.
Later in the briefing, she admitted part of the administration’s work is to determine exactly how many children have been separated from their families. She couldn’t confirm whether the number is closer to 600 or 1,600.
