Harris put in charge to tackle crisis

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday tasked Vice President Kamala Harris with tackling an influx of migrants on the Mexican border, aiming to take charge of a situation that has energized opponents of the new administration.

"I can think of nobody who is better qualified to do this," Biden said at a White House meeting with Harris and other top officials as thousands flee violence in impoverished Central America.

"When she speaks, she speaks for me," Biden said, adding: "I give you a tough job."

Harris said there was "no question that this is a challenging situation."

It marks the first time that Biden has assigned a specific portfolio to Harris, who is seen as representing a younger generation in the Democratic Party and has been constantly at his side since they entered office on January 20.

The convention center will accommodate up to 1,400 children, said a spokesperson for the Office of Refugee Resettlement.

Speaking earlier to CBS News, Harris acknowledged that the United States needed to speed up its processing of migrants' asylum claims and care better for them.

"It's a huge problem. I'm not going to pretend it's not," Harris said in the interview.

She also vowed a greater effort to address the "root causes" of the border situation -- helping the so-called Northern Triangle of Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua so its people do not feel they need to flee.