christina ruffini at the white house has more. christina, good evening. >> reporter: good evening. well, president biden is spending his weekend away in wilmington. meanwhile, many americans are going to spend their weekend checking their bank accounts and mailboxes to see if they are got their 1,400 bucks. now that the checks are going out, president biden says he is, too. >> we're going to be traveling the country to speak directly to the american people about how this law is going to make a real difference in their lives and how help is here for them. >> reporter: next week, the president, first lady, vice president, and second gentleman will fan out across the country from nevada to new jersey, to explain to americans what exactly their $1.9 trillion bought. >> this is important to the president personally, having a conversation directly with people about how they can benefit, addressing questions they have. >> reporter: it's a lesson lehest tm of the biden administration, when the white house missed the messaging on major legislation, like health care and the auto bailout. and

we get more now from cbs' christina ruffini at the white house. christina, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, the white house has so far avoided calling what's happening at the border a crisis, but it is a big problem with the number of migrants on track to reach a 20 year high. hundreds of unaccompanied migrant children are showing up each day at the southern border but president biden says he won't send them back. >> what do you do >> what do you do with an unaccompanied child that comes to the border? you repeat what trump did? we're not doing that. >> reporter: but his administration's compassionate approach to immigration policy has been confused for leniency, and a record 15,000 migrant children are now in u.s. custody. >> the message is quite clear: do not come. the border is closed. the border is closed the border is closed. >> reporter: appearing on multiple sunday shows, department of homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas defended it's border policy blaming the rocky transition period and actions by of the president trump.

cbs's christina ruffini is at the white house with more. good evening. >> good evening, immigration officials say 18,000 migrant children are now in u.s. custody and tonight republicans are putting pressure on the administration to do something about it. >> before stepping on to air force one this evening president biden side-stepped a question about whether he would be making a visit to the southern border. >> we are putting in place a plan that i feel very confident about. and i don't care what the other guy does. >> earlier today white house communication director kate bettingsfield said the surge of migrants was not due to administration policy. >> this is a cyclical issue. one that president biden has said is unacceptable to him and he's working very quickly to address it. >> the white house is also working to address the controversial new voter law in georgia. >> no crow racism, that is what it is, we have to call it what it is. >> which opponents say is aimed at making it harder for minorities to vote. >> so rather than having the pe

jericka. >> duncan: christina ruffini for us in washington tonight, thank you.a landmark day in the history of the civil rights movement. 56 years ago today, the late john lewis led a voting rights march across selma, alabama's edmund pettus bridge only to be brutally attacked by state troopers and police. unlike previous anniversaries there was no march this year. a virtual ceremony was held in its place. president biden honored lewis today by signing an executive order promoting voting access for all americans. a silent march was held in minneapolis today for george floyd. tomorrow jury selection begins in the trial of former police officer derek chauvin, who is facing murder and manslaughter charges in floyd's death. video showing chauvin pressing his knee into floyd's neck last may sparked protests around the world. police and the city are on alert, as security fences surround the courthouse and many buildings across minneapolis are boarded up. today, pope francs marked the final full day of his historic pilgrimage to iraq. the pope spoke at mosul, once the

our well-rested christina ruffini.o much. >>> there are new calls for governors to hold off on their planned lifting of coronavirus restrictions as arizona joins texas, mississippi, and connecticut in announcing plans to cut or relax covid safety guidelines. members of president biden's coronavirus task force say new variants of the virus combined with reduced regulations could lead to yet another spike in cases. it comes as the u.s. sets a daily record in new vaccinations, now nearly 29 million americans are fully vaccinated. and with the new daily case count averaging about 60,000 this week, that's down 78% from the record highs set the first week of january. michael george is here with more this morning. >> reporter: good morning. new case numbers had been dropping for weeks, but now they've plaplatoed. that's why scientists are sounding the alarm. they say efforts to fully reopen may be too much too soon. spring training in arizona opened up to baseball fans. connecticut businesses are lifting indoor capacity limit

christina ruffini is at the white house. >> reporter: as you mentioned biden administration is scrambling to process what's now 18,000 migrant children in u.s. custody. at the same time voting rights advocates are trying to process what to do about this new law in georgia, restrictions which biden has called an atrocity. protests raged outside the state capital in atlanta on friday. >> we're taking our fight to the streets and courtroom. >> reporter: after republican governor signed the controversial bill in a private ceremony. this state representative was arrested after knocking on the governor's closed door. >> for often years i've led the fight to strengthen protections at the ballot box. >> reporter: kemp said the law is aimed at avoiding voter fraud. but critics say it's about voter suppression. it expands early voting days but enacts stricter i.d. requirements on absentee ballots. reduces early voting for local districts. >> can't provide food and water for people about to vote. >> reporter: biden was asked if there's anything the white house can do. >> we don't know exactly what w

christina ruffini is in our washington newsroom. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, michelle.gest federal aid package passed in generations. aimed at helping struggling americans with a much-needed infusion of cash or actually checks, direct deposits, or in some cases it will come from a prepaid - ppaid debit card. it's been showing up in statements over the weekend, or as one industry friend posted yesterday, just got my stimulus check, woohoo. flying high on his legislative victory, president biden went wheels up for a weekend away at his home in wilmington. but not before taking a victory lap in the white house rose garden. >> this bill puts working people in this nation first. >> reporter: surrounded by state flags and a selection of socially distanced democrats who helped push the $1.9 trillion behemoth of a bill through congress without republican support. >> i know how hard it is to pass major, consequential legislation, particularly when we only have such minor, small majorities in both houses. >> reporter: republicans disagree, calling the bill wasteful and its spendi