Though President Joe Biden campaigned on the promise of making America a more welcoming place for immigrants, press secretary Jen Psaki issued a warning to Central Americans who are considering coming north to the United States.

"This is not the time to come to the United States," Psaki said during a briefing on Tuesday. "We need the time to put in place an immigration process where people can be treated humanely."

Psaki said the Biden administration is "trying to repair the damage and the horrific actions of the prior administration" when it comes to immigration, particularly when it comes to reuniting children separated from their families.

However, she added that it would take time for the administration to implement changes to immigration policy.

"We want to put into place an immigration process here that is humane, that is moral, that considers applications for refugees, that considers applications for people to come into this country at the border in a way that treats people as human beings. That's going to take some time," Psaki said. "It's not going to happen overnight."

Some of that work will resume later on Tuesday, as Biden plans to sign three executive orders on immigration.

The first will set up a task force — headed by Biden's nominee for Homeland Security Director, Alejandro Mayorkas — that aims to reunite immigrant children who were separated from their parents at the border under a Trump-era policy.

The second executive order will call for an investigation into causes of migration and will call for an end to a Trump-era policy that forced asylum seekers who entered through the U.S.'s southern border to remain in Mexico.

The third and final order will establish a task force on "New Americans" that will aim to promote immigrant integration and inclusion in the immigration systems.

The executive order signings will take place later in the day on Tuesday, following the pending confirmation of Biden's nominee for Director of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayoras.

The White House briefing comes a day after Biden met with Republican lawmakers, who proposed a counteroffer to Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package. The slimmed-down Republican package totaled about $600 billion.

Psaki called Biden's meeting with Republicans "civil" and "constructive" but said a large gap remains in COVID-19 negotiations. She added that Biden does not plan to lower the price tag of his proposed bill.

Psaki's briefing took place just moments after Biden concluded a call with the Democratic Senate caucus regarding COVID-19 stimulus funding.

Karine Jean-Pierre made history Wednesday becoming the first openly gay woman and the first Black woman in 30 years to deliver a White House press briefing.

Jean-Pierre is the White House principal deputy press secretary. She's briefed reporters aboard Air Force One before, but Wednesday was the first time she did a televised briefing. 

A reporter asked Jean-Pierre what the moment meant for her and she said it was an honor. 

"I appreciate the historic nature, I really do," Jean-Pierre said. "But I believe that, you know, being behind this podium, being in this room, being in this building is not about one person. It's about, you know, what we do on behalf of the American people. Clearly, the president believes in representation matters, and I appreciate him giving me this opportunity. And it's another reason why I think we are so proud that this is the most diverse administration in history."

Judy Smith, who served as deputy press secretary to President George H.W. Bush in 1991, was the first Black woman in the role.

Jean-Pierre is seen as a potential successor to current White House press secretary Jen Psaki, and Wednesday’s appearance was seen as an audition of sorts for the job.

Johannah Grenaway contributed to this report

President Donald Trump addressed reports that China has not been upfront in reporting COVID-19 cases.

As of Wednesday, the number of confirmed cases in China sits at just over 82,000. But Trump called those numbers, "light."

"Their numbers seemed to be a little bit on the light side," Trump said. "And I'm being nice when I say that relative to what we witnessed and what was reported."

What is known is the virus originated in China in December and spread through the Hubei province, forcing extreme measures to shut down commerce in the province. Many of those provisions then were used nationally to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Reports of the new virus became known to the world on Dec. 31 when China reported its discovery of the virus to the

World Health Organization

on Dec. 31. But what China knew in the days and week leading up to that announcement remains unknown.

Despite western countries, including the United States, placing travel restrictions on some travelers from China, the virus made it out of the country.

While questions have come up on China's handling and reporting of COVID-19, Trump said he still maintains a good relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

"But we have a great trade deal and we'd like to keep it, they'd like to keep it, and the relationship is good as to whether or not their numbers are accurate, Trump said, "Uh, I'm not an accountant from China."

On Tuesday, White House infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci agreed that Americans should prepare for more than 100,000 COVID-19 related deaths in upcoming months.

Fauci stressed that social distancing guidelines need to remain in place in order to keep the death toll related to COVID-19 illnesses down. The White House issued projections that 100,000 to 240,000 Americans could die from COVID-19 related illnesses even with social distancing mitigation. Those projections would skyrocket to over 1 million without any social distancing.

"And that's the reason -- my plea at the end of my remarks that now is the time to put your foot on the accelerator, because that's the only thing that's going to stop those peaks," Fauci said.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump was pressed on issuing a national stay-at-home order, akin to those being issued in states like New York, California, Illinois and Ohio. Until Wednesday, Florida had opted not to issue a stay-at-home order.

"Different kind of a state," Trump said. "Also, great governor. He knows exactly what he’s doing. Has a very strong view on it. And we have spoken to (Gov.) Ron (DeSantis).

Justin Boggs is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk.

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