US President Joe Biden has referred to his Irish ancestry during his first formal press conference as president.
Mr Biden was being asked about the plight of migrants at the US-Mexico border, many of whom are being housed in overcrowded detention facilities.
While speaking about the difficult choices people have to make when they decide to leave their home countries, the US president made reference to his own family history.
"When my great-grandfather got into a coffin ship in the Irish sea, the expectation was if he was going to live long enough on that ship to get to the United States of America but they left because of what the Brits had been doing," he said.
"They were in real trouble, they didn't want to leave, but they had no choice," he added.
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Joe Biden has referred to his Irish ancestry during his first formal press conference as US President. When asked about migrants at the US-Mexico border, Mr Biden referred to his Irish ancestry saying that the decision to leave one's home country is a difficult choice to make. pic.twitter.com/pbdKeGQ0ng
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) March 25, 2021
Mr Biden also told reporters that he expects to run for re-election in 2024 and that he would keep Kamala Harris as his running mate.
"My answer is yes, I plan to run for re-election. That's my expectation," he said.
Asked if he has decided to run for reelection in 2024, @JoeBiden says: "Yes, my plan is to run for reelection. That's my expectation." @rtenews pic.twitter.com/ufvmApL6zi
— Brian O'Donovan (@BrianOD_News) March 25, 2021
Mr Biden announced a new target for the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines in the US, with a goal of administering 200 million doses in his first 100 days in office.
His initial plan of 100 million vaccination shots in his first 100 days was reached last week, 42 days ahead of schedule.
"I know it’s ambitious, twice our original goal, but no other country in the world has even come close," Mr Biden said.
The US President @JoeBiden is holding his first formal press conference since taking office. He says his new #COVID19 vaccine target is 200 million doses in his first 100 days in office. That's double his original target. @rtenews pic.twitter.com/KaF1vKajv5
— Brian O'Donovan (@BrianOD_News) March 25, 2021
He also faced questions on North Korea, Afghanistan, China and working with Republicans in the US Congress.
In relation to immigration he said he would not apologize for rolling back policies of his Republican predecessor and brushed off criticism that migrants were making the journey to the southern border because they perceived him to be a "nice guy."
Mr Biden sought to defend his handling of rising migration at the US-Mexico border. While he mostly struck an empathetic tone,he said the United States was expelling the vast majority of migrants, including families, under a Covid-19 public health order.
The Trump-era order allows border agents to rapidly expel migrants without giving them a chance to claim asylum, but it has angered civil rights groups, who say it is illegal.
The number of migrants caught at the border has climbed sharply in recent weeks, thrusting the US President into an emerging humanitarian and political crisis a little more than two months after he took office.
The migrants include a rising number of unaccompanied minors, who have not been subject to the pandemic-related expulsion policy.
As of Tuesday, nearly 5,000 children were backed up in crowded border stations awaiting transfers to overwhelmed federal shelters.
Mr Biden said he would not leave children stranded at the border.
President Biden also said he would prevent China from passing the United States to become the most powerful country in the world, vowing to invest heavily to ensure America prevails in the rivalry between the world's two largest economies.
