>> we are making progress getting america closer to herd immunity. and a national vaccination effort accelerates. yesterday, 4.6 million doses were administered nationwide, that's a new high point, way up from 2.9 million shots last week. so far the u.s. has given more than 107 million shots. the rolling average is 2.5 million per day. the fifth of americans have received one dose. checks are going in the mail. or direct deposit. and you can check for your stimulus payment on the irs' website, go to irs.gov/coronavirus and then click on the get my payment tool. to see if you are eligible for this stimulus, and for the two previous ones. again, that's i are rs.gov/coronavirus, the payments are one more reason the white house is preparing the pr blitz, tomorrow, vice president biden and vice president harris, the lady and second gentleman, prepare a tour. it's one crisis at a time. and soon, the white house may need to refocus on the southern border. in one month, right now, border patrol is detaining 3,000 minors, the situation is so serious. president biden sent fema in to assist. the republican lawmakers are calling it biden's borderer crisis is, that is why tomorrow, kevin mccarthy of california, will lead the house gop delegation to the border. next week, we will be traveling to the border to see first hand, to come back with solutions to make sure our border is secure. >> and here is what house speaker nancy pelosi had to say to that. >> i do know that his purpose is, but i do know that the administration is trying to fix the broken system that was left to them by the trump administration. the biden administration will have a system -- >> they plan to vote on two immigration bills. one would provide a path to citizenship for dreamers and those with protected status. and another will would provide legal status for farm work ers. let us begin in el paso, where we find nbc's garrett hague, tell us what is happening where you are. >> hey, joshua, el paso is not new to migrants coming and going and the surges of unaccompanied minors. what we are seeing is due to the trump administration's pauses. you are seeing the influx of unaccompanied minors in a system when combined with covid-19, which has stretched the border patrol facilities, hhs shelters, everything to its limits. you have enormous trouble here. essentially integrating the people in to the existing system. earlier tonight, i interviewed congress woman veronica escobar, that represents this this part of on el paso. she talked about the challenge and frustration that she feels with the republican colleagues who she thinks are not taking responsibility, or accepting it and taking it seriously enough. this is a problem that predated, goes back forever. but did the week, did the united states waste the last four years building walls instead of trying to address the root causes of this? >> 100%. when you think about the 10s of billions of dollars that we have spent in the last four years alone and if you will look at the approach top -- the approach to border policy, the hundreds of billions of dollars that was expended, what has changed, right? >> reporter: and joshua, that is one of the questions that presents itself for mccarthy. what was not done over the last four years and if you accept the house republicans that it's a new crisis at the border, what are they willing to work with democrats to get done about it now. those are the unanswered political questions at this point. >> garrett, you spoke to human rights advocates about the challenges for asylum speakers. what did you hear? >> it was interesting to hear about the dangers that the remain in mexico has created. the unaccompanied minors are coming up from other areas, not from mexico. walking through mexico to present themselves here at the fence. here at the border in the united states. and apply for asylum. under the trump administration. many of those people, including people who had absolutely no background in mexico, or essentially were picked up and dropped off on the other side of the fence where they were subject to dangerous and difficult conditions that were described to me this way. >> for the past two years, i have tracked over 1500 incidents of asylum seekers and migrants that were returned on mexico under what is called the migrant protection protocols and many, many of them were kidnapped, people were raped, the dangers for asylum seekers, children among them, being sent back to mexico is extreme. and biden administration should act quickly to ensure that those people are able to find protection in the united states as is required by our laws. >> reporter: and joshua, american law currently, includes something called title 42, it's important. it's the covid regulations that say, the border is closed. and that almost no one is being allowed in. under the biden administration, that has been lifted for children. unaccompanied children are allowed in. but for families and single adults the old rules apply. meaning all the dangers you heard described per -- >> what are the prospects positive -- prospects for the house bill? >> reporter: the comprehensive immigration reform plan for biden, it does not have the votes yet. it is not a finished product. so what they are doing is breaking it in to component pieces that they hope will be more popular. the house is expected to vote this week on a pathway to citizenship for dreamers and a legal status structure for farm workers and temporary rary workers in the united states. it could alleviate the challenges in communities that rely heavily on farm labor. but neither of those provisions will do anything to stop the unfolding humanitarian problem that we are experiencing down at the borderer now. >> and briefly, garrett, are we hearing from house republicans in terms of their ideas for immigration? >> the one house republican proposal that was put forward is something called the pause act, that takes title 42 and reapplies it across the board. while that would stop these migrant children from being allowed in the country. it does not do anything to put them anywhere except on the other side of this fence. so, democrats, immigration activists say it's a solution and not a humane one. and not, in sync with american immigration law. thank you, garrett. that is nbc's garrett haguestarting us off with the border. and let's continue with congressman from california. good evening. let's talk about law and policy and pick up with you in terms of where we stand and what needs to bely in light of what is happening. now. what is your sense of where we stand in terms of longer term solutions for what is happening at the border including the two bills that house departments plan to move forward this week? >> we meade the two bills. but we need to first look at what is happening at the border and say it's unacceptable. what is happening to the children, i just read a report that some of the children do not have food, they are not able to shower, and they are being held and not going to a settlement and are not being given access to lawyers. we want them to apply forasylum and expedite reunifying with families and put them in a place that is not behind bars as unaccompanied minors. and at least there's food and proper shelter. >> there's a facility in your district called moffet field, a big area, looks like a gigantic airplane hanger. it's being considered for a detention cent er for migrant children. tell us how you feel about that use? >> the administration contacted us, i prefer we have a reunification with the family and in the office of refuge resettlement. which is not as much of a detention. if they use moffett, they need to have the proper safeguard. we are reading that the children don't have food and proper nutrition or access to lawyers. none of that is acceptable. so we have said that you have to meet very high standards and congress needs to fund the refuge resettlement places so that we can have proper care for the children while they are applying for asylum. >> moffett field is not designed for housing people. it's designed as like, it's next to a california international guard facility, it's a make-shift solution for an ongoing problem with regards to that, i wonderer how you see the other immigration issue in your district that i think has to do with immigration of high skilled workers. there was a lot of controversy over what are called h-1-b visas, which are the visas that that tech companies use to get tech people to work in the u.s. highly skilled workers. and there's reports that suggest that the policies that allow for highly skilled worker visas could be threatened depending on the way the house goes forward for reform. whether it's a sweeping bill or a series of smaller ones. talk about this had other aspect of immigration. high skilled labor and policy. what would you like to see done there? >> josh, i believe, whether you are looking at immigrants in tech, or immigrants working in hospitality, the study is that they create jobs and contribute to the economy. one of the things that people miss out is that the immigrants are spending money. and that actually leads to more business and more job creationing. and there's economic study showing that when you restrict the immigrants coming in, you are hurting consumer demand and jobs. in california, in 1964, banned farm workers from coming. and it did not lead to more u.s. employment, it led to automation. we start with the fact that immigrants enrich the economy. what we want is for them to not be abused in the marketplace andso, where you have these visa holders being paid for low market wages i'm for reform and accountability. if we can expedite that, and have them have the proper bargaining power, i think we should look at immigrants as an asset to our economy. >> few things that i want to ask you before i let you go. covid, we know that california is allowing some counties to lift restrictions in the days and weeks depending on how infection rates look. your district hugs the southern end of the bay. and san francisco bay kind of at the, in part of silicon sally, north of san jose. talk about what is happening in your district. in terms of closings and reopenings and what you are hoping for if some of the restrictions are lifted. >> i am with dr. fauci and that we need to be careful and not rush in to this. our public health official actually had the earliest, shut down of the economy. and saved numerous lives and what we need to do is make sure that we get vaccinated before lifting the restrictions on dining and lifting restrictions on large gatherings so that we don't deal with variants, leading to more deaths in the next couple of months. so, i am for a cautious approach, as are a lot of the public health officials that i talked to in santa clara county. >> before i let you go, i want to see what you make of the recall effort targeting gavin newsom, what do you think will happen there? >> well, it's a republican effort, they have not won a statewide election and instead of being constructive in dealing with covid and in dealing with the economics. they are trying to recall a governor. i have seen that he will defeat the recall. there's times i disagree with him. but everyone, over the spectrum are behind him on this. it's a waste of resources and it's not going to succeed. >> congressman, thanks very much. >> thank you, you know my district better than anyone. >> we will keep talking about that district as the weeks and months go on. coming up, how are you feeling during the pandemic? not physically. mentally. we have a number of questions about how covid affects our mental health. a clinical psychologist joins us ahead in tonight's dear doctor. up next, new york city has a lot to get done, getting people vaccinated and getting that beautiful vibrant business district reopen again and addressing a rise in homelessness. andrew yang is atop the contenders to be next mayor. first, corey coughman is here with the headlines. hey. >> the stories we are watching at this hour. nfl quarterback drew brees announced his retirement, he played 15 of his 20 years in the league in new orleans. a california man came to the aid of a teacher who lost his job in the pandemic and became homeless. he noticed the man living in a vehicle in a parking lot. it turned out to be his childhood teacher. he started a go fund me that raised over $25,000 if in three days. and finally, tonight, air travel is at the highest level since march 2020. the tsa said that it screened over 1.3 million passengers on friday. that though is still down 38% from precovid levels. more of "the week with joshua johnson" after the break. lexus sales event. lease the 2021 rx 350 for $429 a month for 36 month's, and we'll make you're first month's payment. experience amazing. allergies don't have to be scary. spraying flonase daily stops your body and we'll make you're first month's payment. from overreacting to allergens all season long. psst psst you're good t-mobile is upgrading its network at a record pace. we were the first to bring 5g nationwide. and now that sprint is a part of t-mobile we're turning up the speed. upgrading over a thousand towers a month with ultra capacity 5g. to bring speeds as fast as wifi to cities and towns across america. and we're adding more every week. coverage and speed. who says you can't have it all? why choose proven quality sleep from sleep number? because a good night's rest is where muscles recover, and our minds are restored. introducing the new sleep number 360 smart bed. the only bed that effortlessly adjusts to both of you. proven quality sleep, is life-changing sleep. . new york is electing a mayor this year. the field of candidates is pretty big. but former presidential candidate andrew yang is leading the pack. he has ranked at the top of public polling. yesterday, mr. yang had his fundraising numbers. his campaign said it had raised $6.5 million. that includes funds matched from over 15,000 individual donors. the first democratic may oral debate is scheduled for the 13th. andrew yang joins us now, mr. yang, good evening, it's great to have you. >> it's great to have you, joshua, happy grammy night. i would rather be here, feed that brain. >> i thought you would say happy pi day, because you are a math guy. >> i am. >> in 30 seconds or less, why should new yorkers elect you mayor? >> i can help new york city recover from the crisis more than any other candidate by helping small businesses reopen and firing up the engine of new york's economy. >> let's ask you about part of that which has to do with getting schools and reopen. schools and workplaces are closely tied. the new chancellor takes action tomorrow. she told the "wall street journal" that she want to expand school to as many kids as possible. what do you make of that? and what is your plan forgetting kids back in the classroom? >> i think that's exactly what we should be focusing on. because i'm a public school parent myself, joshua and my children have also not been in school all year. and facts show that online education is 30-70% less effective an in person instruction and 29% of new yorkers don't have high speed internet at home. so, we are looking at learning losses for hundreds of thousands of kids and we have a lot of time to make up. so, if we can get those kids in to classrooms this summer. we should be doing just that. >> i'm going get through as many questions as i can. including questions from our viewers. particularly about the city's housing crisis, emily asked how do you address the problem of mourk city becoming a barren landscape of retail space and high rises that are empty. how do you make it liveable. >> the affordable housing crisis, we have an opportunity the right now because hotels right now are 80% vacant and commercial real estate nonprofit that is funding for hundreds of new yorkers that with do it in a fraction of the cost, and the first day that ground up construction about take. they have to marry the opportunity to the need and get people the affordable housing that we have been looking for as a city. and you talk about affordable housing and when it comes to a neighborhood, they are not as for it. we have to take advantage of the building stock that we have lying empty. >> what do you say about converting it to section 8 public housing? >> i don't think that anybody should be getting evicted in a pandemic. the question is do we put the rent relief in the hands of the tenants or the landlords. no one should be pushed out on the street. >> overall crime is in new york. and attacks against asian americans is rising. over the course of the pandemic. give me an example of an experience from your life, an encounter with racism that you had. that forms the way you deal with race as a mayor? >> about a year ago today, when i started going out on the street, there was like a completely different attitude towards me, towards my family members. towards people of asian american decent and in my case, it did not result in anything other than dirty looks and people shrinking away from you in public. i just talked to a restaurant worker that was assaulted on the race street of new york for nothing than ethnicity, there's heartbreak in the asian american community right now, and the incidents are up 900% according to the numbers we have. so, i have been doing my best to talk to the victims and hopefully bring new york ers together to say there's no place for this type of hatred or violence. >> how does that inform you policy wise in terms of what you do as the crimes as mayor. >> there's three things we should do immediately. number one, we need to fully fund the asian hate crimes task force that right now is a volunteer group, i don't think it's an appropriate response. some of the incidents have not been treated as hate crimes and they should be. the fact patterns there's had no other reason that this person was attacked other than the color of their skin and third, we have to build up bonds of trust and communication between city officials and the asian american community. right now, a lot of the incidents are not going reported. i would be thrilled to serve that role if i'm fortunate enough to be the next mayor. a number of accusations of inappropriate behavior has been alleged by govern er cuomo. you said that he should step aside temporarily as the investigation takes place. you compared it to a police officer or teacher, but that letter was out before the allegation was made. has this new information changed your view on what the governorer should do? >> i think we should be focused on the interests of mourkers all over the state. and we need a governor who is able to focus on the business at hand, we are still struggling with a pandemic in recovery, without being dragged down by these kinds ofs allegations and this controversy. so, we should have the governor step aside, let lieutenant governor hockel take over and that would be in the best interest of people all over the state as well as in new york city. >> it is possible, theoretically that you could win the race for mayor and governor cuomo could still be the governor of new york when you take office. theoretically, if that happened, how do you manage that relationship with albany and with mr. cuomo? >> my job will be to deliver for the people of new york city. and to me, the interests of new york city and new york state are very much aligned. the fact is the city is the economic energy of the state. so we have to get on the same page, there are all of the issues that have been facility erring recently because frankly, city hall and albany have not had the kind of working relationship they need to be able to solve the problems we are seeing in front of us every day. >> i do want to ask you about universal basic income. that was one