Presidents Biden and Trump Visit US-Mexico Border amid Immigration Crisis
President Biden and GOP front-runner Donald Trump both visited the US-Mexico border as a central issue in their anticipated 2024 presidential rematch, trying to use immigration for political advantage.
Biden called on Congress to pass a Senate bipartisan bill that would bring about significant reforms to border security policy, for which reform measures have not been undertaken for decades.
Brownsville
Brownsville is currently experiencing a reduction in illegal border crossings; however, approximately 180 migrants a day still arrive at its shelter, which reflects an overall nationwide decrease. Still, its leaders fear the present calm could change at any moment; therefore they support bipartisan border legislation currently languishing in Congress that provides communities resources to assist migrants as well as expedited work authorizations.
Vice President Joe Biden stopped by a border patrol processing facility and met with local law enforcement officials and community leaders Thursday ahead of his planned visit to the region. In typically subdued remarks, he thanked border agents for their hard work while encouraging Congress to allocate them more resources. Furthermore, he demanded reinstatement of a bipartisan border security deal that Senate Republicans killed this month due to Trump’s opposition.
Sister Norma Pimentel, a migrant rights advocate, expressed grave alarm over Vice President Joe Biden’s plans to implement new border policies that she believes would discourage families from seeking asylum in the US. These include revitalising and expanding a travel ban, ideological screening of migrants and terminating work permits for illegal aliens residing here illegally. “That won’t work for us and I hope he doesn’t implement any of those things,” Pimentel told reporters.
Immigration has emerged as an issue that will shape both candidates’ reelection campaigns, from Biden and Trump who both visited Texas border cities on Thursday – approximately 325 miles apart – on separate visits. A recent Reuters-Ipsos poll found that 17 percent of American listed it as their top concern, ahead of unemployment or global warming.
Trump visited Eagle Pass, about 30 miles south of Brownsville, and publicly criticized Biden’s handling of the border crisis. This visit signified a shift in both candidates’ attention as they head into the final leg of their campaigns; Democrats have been pressing him to do more in response to a situation which has caused blowback among many Republicans.
Eagle Pass
As the 2024 presidential campaign winds down, immigration is fast becoming a central theme. Presidents Biden and Trump visited two border towns several hundred miles apart Thursday to demonstrate their views on this crisis. Biden strongly condemned Republicans for abandoning a bipartisan deal to curb illegal migration; he pledged harsher immigration policies such as building his signature border wall; while Trump focused on the murder of 22-year-old nursing student killed during a jog in Georgia by suspected undocumented Venezuelan migrants suspected of crossing unknowingly.
Biden visited Brownsville, a city experiencing a sharp surge in crime due to a surge of migrants from Latin America, where crime levels have significantly increased due to their arrival. He expressed disappointment with a lack of coordination between government officials and local officials as he demanded additional funds be provided so more judges can handle asylum claims backlog.
Biden visited a city border facility where migrants are being processed and walked along part of its border wall, meeting with agencies, local officials and law enforcement officers as he went. While speaking at these meetings, Biden made several subtle pleas for more resources including more immigration judges as well as overhauling of current systems to make them more efficient.
On his visit to Eagle Pass, President Trump sounded more aggressive. Standing before an makeshift wall of razor wire, he used war imagery while criticizing Governor Greg Abbott’s deployment of Texas National Guard troops for patrolling in Eagle Pass. Furthermore, echoing 2016 campaign rhetoric by suggesting some migrants may be terrorists and poisoning Americans’ blood supply, Trump implied some migrants are terrorists or are poisoning their blood supply with illegal immigration.
Both visits reflected an increased sensitivity toward immigration in the US, particularly after late last year when President Donald Trump tried to address rising migrant numbers through executive action. Over time, people attempting to cross our borders has increased due to climate change, economic conditions in developing nations, war and unrest, cartels using migrants as cash cows as well as cartels that use migrants as cash cows.
El Paso
El Paso, located along the Mexican-US border, has seen the arrival of migrants tax local resources to their limit. Numerous non-profit and faith groups as well as government shelters are now at capacity due to this influx. Mayor Oscar Leeser stated that it had brought El Paso “to a breaking point”, straining both economy and local health services as a result.
Since last week, thousands of migrants have been arriving in the city at once, creating “an acute crisis” for local resources and straining shelter capacity to its limits, according to Mayor Oscar Leeser. This sudden surge of migrants caught everyone off-guard and has further stressed federal immigration resources as well.
Biden plans to visit the border Thursday to urge Congress to approve Senate’s bipartisan immigration agreement that expands asylum rules and sets daily caps on entry, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. While at the border he plans on meeting local officials and law enforcement.
Jean-Pierre anticipates Biden will meet with local leaders to urge Republicans to support legislation related to migrants, such as invoking provisions in the Immigration and Nationality Act that give presidents broad leeway to restrict entry for individuals who pose risks to public safety or national security.
Migrant advocates are skeptical that President Donald Trump’s plans to limit asylum seekers and reimpose restrictions on who qualifies for legal asylum in the US will work, noting his failure to present any detailed plan to address this problem. Furthermore, they express alarm over his rhetoric tending toward tougher conservative talk while moving away from discussing economic benefits associated with immigration into the country.
Migration families seeking asylum in the US is often an act of necessity in their efforts to escape poverty and violence in their home countries. Many migrants make the journey with their children, often without adequate knowledge about how best to navigate its complex asylum process.
Juarez
The US-Mexico border is an integral component of the 2020 presidential race, and Vice President Joe Biden and Donald Trump made dueling visits to border towns on Thursday – Biden in Brownsville and Trump in Eagle Pass – to compete for attention over an issue expected to play an integral role in their rematch in November.
Biden asked congressional Republicans to exhibit “some spine” by supporting a bipartisan bill that would authorize more Border Patrol agents, asylum officers and fentanyl detection technology. He further called for them to end “sanctuary city” policies which he said allow local law enforcement officials to refuse cooperating with federal immigration authorities.
Biden told Border Patrol agents and law enforcement officials in Brownsville that America could no longer afford an immigration system that permits large numbers of illegal aliens into the country, many of whom become criminals or drain on social services. He called on Congress “not to play politics with tens of thousands of vulnerable lives” by funding Senate deal which has been blocked by Republicans.
Since the 1980s, Juarez, Mexico’s second-largest city, has seen an enormous influx of migrants looking for work at maquiladoras – factories which manufacture electronics and automobile parts for export to the US – creating economic gains as well as sprawling slum housing communities and environmental pollution. Many migrants were mistreated while many died at the hands of violent gangs according to Juarez Mayor’s Office data.
As its growth has outstripped its capacity, residents now face various problems related to drug trafficking, robbery, murder and kidnappings. Police officers have become overwhelmed by cases and were not able to prevent certain crimes committed by undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers who are murder victims themselves.
Biden’s visit to the border provided him with an unprecedented opportunity to witness firsthand how dire conditions have driven people from Mexico into America in search of asylum. He met with law enforcement officials at a port of entry in Brownsville before strolling a stretch of riverfront border fence; later, in Eagle Pass he met with Border Patrol agents and Texas state officials for separate meetings.
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