Washington
CNN
—
President Joe Biden will meet with some of the relatives of the six construction workers who died in the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse during his visit to Baltimore on Friday, the White House announced.
The White House previously announced that Biden would meet with local officials and examine the wreckage of the bridge, which collapsed early last week after a massive cargo ship hit one of its supporting piers, sending the bridge in the water and choking Baltimore Harbor. which sees millions of dollars in trade every day.
White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Tom Perez visited the families of some of the victims last week, describing their “inconsolable” loved ones and the urgency with which officials are working to recover the four remaining bodies that remain in a mess of twisted steel.
Perez told CNN in an interview that he was in contact with the families and coordinating with various government agencies, including U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, to coordinate visits to the United States for some relatives .
“We work very closely with people in the immigration affairs offices to identify those needs – and there’s a whole range of needs,” Perez said.
Pérez stressed that the United States is engaged in different processes involving four different countries, in addition to the specific requests of the families, some of whom want to go to the United States and at least one who wants the victim’s body repatriated.
During an appearance on MSNBC last week, Perez said some relatives were inconsolable after the collapse. One of her spouses repeatedly told her, “I just want her body.” »
“It’s so hard. …The most basic right any worker has when they go to work is to go home safe. And they didn’t do that. And I didn’t sleep well last night, and my problems are nothing compared to what they’re going through,” Perez said.
“It’s a gut punch to the president,” Perez told MSNBC, “it’s a gut punch to these families.” And we’re going to do our best to make sure we help them, take care of them and make sure search and rescue operations continue.
“We continue to work with these families and we try to meet all their needs,” he said.
