Emerging U.S. Border Crisis May End Joe Biden's Approval Rating Honeymoon

President Joe Biden's approval rating faces a test as the annual surge in migrant families and unaccompanied children begins at the southern border.

The surge, typically seen each spring as the weather warms, is leading to criticism of Biden from across the political spectrum with questions over the impact of his policies and the treatment of people arriving at the border.

The president has received majority approval since he entered the White House. According to FiveThirtyEight's tracker, based on a weighted average of polls, his rating is 53.4 percent approval and 38.8 percent disapproval.

Real Clear Politics' tracker has him at 54.6 approval and 39.9 percent disapproval.

Both of Biden's predecessors were hit politically by migrant surges. He has issued executive orders on immigration since taking office in January, but faces a difficult task in navigating the situation.

The number of unaccompanied migrant children being detained along the southern border has soared in recent weeks. Progressive Democrats have questioned the use of facilities to hold children.

There are also concerns over the conditions in border towns, with a spokesperson for Doctors Without Borders describing them as "inhumane" in a statement to the news website Border Report.

Overcrowding at facilities has been a problem too, compounded by protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Immigration advocacy groups have claimed Biden's policies fall "seriously short."

Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers have questioned his decisions, such as the roll back of the "Remain in Mexico" program, and labelled the situation a crisis.

Former President Donald Trump has suggested that the country is "being destroyed at the southern border," according to a statement reported by Fox News.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said at a press briefing on Tuesday that the White House was "continuing to work to convey to people in the region that this is not the time to come, that the majority of people who come to the border will be turned away, which is factually accurate."

Asked if the situation was a "crisis at the border," Psaki said: "Look, I don't think we need to sit here and put new labels on what we have already conveyed is challenging, what we have conveyed is a top priority for the president, what our policy teams are working on every single day."

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said earlier this month he did not think there was a crisis at the border, adding that work was underway to "manage the challenge" there and ensure that it does not become one.

Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment.