President Biden brings words of support to Maryland
Urges Congress to act to rebuild collapsed bridge
President Joe Biden grieved with family members of the six immigrant workers killed in the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse during a trip to Baltimore on Friday, urging Congress to take swift action to approve funding to rebuild the bridge.
Biden, who has clamped down on unauthorized border crossings, steered clear of mentioning the victims’ status in the country, instead focusing on their contribution to their community.
“Most were immigrants, all were Marylanders − hardworking, strong
and selfless,” Biden said during the visit 10 days after the bridge collapse.
Biden told the reeling Baltimore community that “your nation has your back” and vowed to “move heaven and earth to rebuild this bridge as rapidly as humanly possible.” He said his administration is committed to ensuring the parties responsible for the bridge collapse are “held accountable to the fullest extent the law will allow.”
“But I also want to be clear: We will support Maryland and Baltimore every step of the way to help you rebuild and maintain all the business and commerce that’s here now,” Biden said, announcing federal grants available to workers who relocate to Baltimore to assist in recovery efforts.
On Marine One along with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Biden toured by air what remains of the bridge on the Patapsco River before receiving a briefing on recovery efforts from first responders and local and state officials at the Maryland Transportation Authority in Dundalk, Maryland.
“As I stand here, I call on Congress to authorize this effort as soon as possible,” Biden said of the massive bridge reconstruction project.
After his remarks, Biden met with loved ones of the six deceased workers, who were immigrants from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico. Two other workers were rescued.
“After pulling a night shift working potholes, they were on a break when the ship struck,” Biden said, recounting how one of the victims, Carlos Hernandez, 24, left a message for his girlfriend seconds before the bridge collapsed saying that he and his crew had just poured cement and were waiting for it to dry.
“To all the families of loved ones who are grieving, I’ve come here to grieve with you. We all are. It’s not the same, but I know a little bit about what it’s like to lose a piece of our soul,” Biden said, adding the time will come when the thought of their loved one “brings a smile to your face instead of a tear.”
“My vow is that we will not rest, as Carlos said, until the cement has dried of the entirety of a new bridge,” Biden said.
The absence of the bridge has major economic ramifications for the region and for shipping out of the Port of Baltimore. The collapse occurred around 1:30 a.m. on March 26, when the Singapore-flagged container ship Dali slammed into one of the bridge’s piers as it left the Port of Baltimore.
The Biden administration last week authorized $60 million in federal emergency relief funds for Maryland’s initial costs, but significantly more funding will be needed to rebuild the bridge. Biden has vowed the federal government will cover the entire tab for reconstruction.
Some House Republicans are seeking conditions for any federal funding. The hard-line House Freedom Caucus, which has balked at previous spending measures, demanded in a statement Friday that the Biden administration lift its pause on approvals for liquefied natural gas export projects as part of any funding package.
Freedom Caucus members also said all funding for the bridge’s reconstruction must be “fully offset” for them to sign off on bridge funding.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Friday announced an ambitious timeline to partially reopen the Fort McHenry Channel in Baltimore by the end of April and fully reopen it by the end of May. The Francis Scott Key Bridge opened in 1977 after a five-year construction. But officials say it could be rebuilt in less than five years, depending on funding, design plans and the state of the wreckage under the water.
Moore announced that the Maryland Tough Baltimore Strong Alliance, composed of more than 50 businesses and other partners including employers, have agreed not to lay off employees affected by the bridge collapse.
“Now I know our state’s largest city is being tested right now,” Moore said. “But Baltimore has been tested before. We get knocked down, we stand back up and we dust ourselves off, and we move forward. That is what we do. And the people of Maryland are grateful to have a full partner in this work like President Biden.”
The deaths of the six workers rattled Baltimore’s Latino immigrant community, which has grown swiftly in recent years, with offices established in the city, county and state providing immigrant services. But gaps in resources for the community have been cast into sharper focus with the collapse.
“It’s tragic that it has to take this to bring attention to this population,” said Mónica Guerrero Vázquez, executive director of Centro SOL, a Johns Hopkins University-affiliated organization that helps local Latino communities with health access. “However, it’s very important to use this as an opportunity to build momentum on the importance of immigrant labor in the state and in cities like Baltimore, to promote equity and social justice in our communities.”
Susana Barrios, a volunteer for Comité Latino de Baltimore, said the impact of the collapse is still being absorbed in immigrant communities. She compared it with the COVID-19 pandemic, in the sense that it exposed a deficit of support for some residents. Comité started distributing food at Salem United Methodist Church in Highlandtown because people there didn’t qualify for unemployment insurance or food stamps because of their immigration status.
The same may come to pass with the bridge collapse. It’s an economic blow and a heavy weight on the mental health of people coping with the tragedy. Even smaller issues such as longer commutes will effect people’s daily lives, Barrios added.
“It’s going to affect us way more than we even think, because it has such a huge ripple effect,” she said.