U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) this morning seized on the occasion of President Joe Biden‘s first 100 days in office to herald better times for the country.

Booker cited citizens’ individual receipts of $1,400 checks, the expansion of the child tax credit, and other COVID-19 crisis measures.

“Are you better off now than 100 days ago?” he asked, standing outside Penn Station in downtown Newark.

“New Jersey Transit was not running as frequently as they now,” he said. “Are you better off?

“Yes,” he answered. “America is thriving on a road out of the valley of the shadow of death [to success].”

The Associated Press earlier today noted that the Biden administration – while hitting its marks in key areas – continues to struggle in the area off immigration reform.

From an AP report:

Raise refugee cap to 125,000, up from the 15,000 set by President Donald Trump.

Nowhere close. The White House first said it would stick to Trump’s 15,000 cap due to “humanitarian concerns.” After facing backlash from Democrats, it shifted gears and said Biden would increase the historically low cap on refugees set by Trump — but probably not all the way to the 62,500 that Biden previously had planned. And the numbers actually admitted this year are likely to be closer to 15,000.

— Surge humanitarian resources to the border and encourage public-private partnerships to deal with an increase in migration there.

Yes, but is it enough? The Department of Homeland Security has deployed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help deal with the major increase of border arrivals, and Biden signed an executive order asking officials to prepare plans for using humanitarian resources there. He has yet to establish any new public-private partnerships. The largest number of unaccompanied children ever at the border created massive overcrowding at Customs and Border Protection facilities and set off a mad scramble for temporary space at convention centers, military bases and other large venues.