Despite his less than peaceful transition into the White House, President Joe Biden’s first 100 days have gone by without much event.
Many who were seeking great progression for the nation at the onset of his election were left disappointed.
In particular, it is largely the youth population that has grown disillusioned with the presidency since the election.
In his first 100 days, Biden signed only 11 bills into law. But in this case, quality was of importance over quantity. Biden signed into law the COVID-19 relief package, which allowed for a third round of stimulus checks.
Although the presidency passed a huge, $1.9 trillion economic aid package in March and made movement on topics such as infrastructure and taxes, a popular criticism of the presidency is that it has not focused enough upon social issues.
Activism, whether performative or true allyship, increased around the Black Lives Matter movement during the summer and Biden said that he would address the issues with police and police reform during his campaign.
Biden did not go through with establishing the national police oversight commission that he discussed during his campaign and also is not taking executive action on policing, according to an article by The Wall Street Journal.
However, he is trying to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which would work towards banning chokeholds by taking funding away from police departments that do not ban them.
Black voters, who turned the tide for Biden in Georgia and Pennsylvania, deserve to be given what they were promised during the Biden campaign: an ability to live their lives without being in fear and a president that confronts institutional racism head-on.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris also planned to find alternatives to ICE detention centers and decrease the amount of unaccompanied migrant children in these centers.
However, according to an article by The Chicago Sun Times, some of these facilities are now at 1,640% capacity.
The amount of children at the border has increased enough to prompt the Biden Administration to open a previously closed detention center that was open under the Trump administration, wrote Silvia Foster-Frau in an article by The Washington Post.
The sentiment in decreasing the amount of ICE centers is valued, but not without action or a plan that will truly keep migrant children safe. If the supposed alternative that Biden desired is not put into place soon, his predecessor’s history will repeat itself with increasing and disturbing reports of abuses and deaths within detention centers.
While it may be apparent that Biden has not done much to act upon some of the more socially and politically divisive topics that came clear to spotlight over the last year, his approval rating has held relatively steady from his election and throughout his first 100 days.
Although it may appear that Biden has steered clear of some of these divisive topics, it may be contributing to greater unity and the political deescalation our nation craves.
Biden’s first 100 days go to show that no president, or political figurehead, will be able to “do it all” and address all issues to the satisfactory liking of the whole nation. However, it is important that our leaders are held accountable to the best interests of the people, and no president is the exception to this.