Biden and Trump on the US‑Mexico border - summary

Two presidential candidates visited the southern border of the United States and Mexico on Thursday.

The two politicians visited the border due to the growing migration problem that has been electrifying the American public for weeks. From May 2023 to December 31, DHS removed or returned a record number of individuals—over 472,000—the vast majority of whom crossed the southwest border, including more than 78,800 individual family members, reports U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The White House announced that Mr. Biden is in Brownsville, Texas, holding meetings with border patrol agents, law enforcement officials, and local leaders. During his speech in Brownsville, he urged Congress to approve the bipartisan border security agreement negotiated in the Senate but turned down by Republicans earlier this month following opposition from Trump.

President Biden commended the U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel for their work along the southern border, emphasizing their critical need for additional resources, including more agents, officers, and equipment, to effectively secure the border. "Folks, it's time to act. It's long past time to act," said Biden.

At the same time, the ex-president and leading candidate for the Republican nomination is visiting Eagle Pass, Texas, located just over 300 miles away from the president. Trump held meetings with Texas officials, including Governor Greg Abbott. During his speech at the border, Trump asserted that the U.S. is facing an influx under the guise of "being overrun by the Biden migrant crime," detailing various offenses he claims have been perpetrated by migrants. "They're being let into our country, and it's horrible," he stated.

Biden urged Republican leaders to "show a little spine" by embracing the border and national security deal that had been accepted and then spurned by Trump. The proposal, aimed at allocating funds for additional border security agents beyond ports of entry and increasing the number of immigration judges to address a backlog of millions of cases, was "derailed by rank-and-file politics," according to the president. He explained that Republicans were dissuaded by the argument: "'Don't do that because it'll benefit the incumbent.'"

"Instead of shifting the blame on everyone but himself, Joe Biden should take responsibility for the border crisis, deaths, and destruction that his policies have caused, say Laken Riley’s name, and use his executive power to shut the border down today," said in a statement Karoline Leavitt, Trump's national press secretary.

Source: NBC News, CBS News