BROWNSVILLE, Texas—President Joe Biden visited the U.S.–Mexico border on Feb. 29, where he viewed the border and met with Border Patrol agents and law enforcement.
His visit came amid rising public disapproval of his immigration and border policies, with many Americans holding him responsible for the current surge in illegal immigration.
The president’s rare visit to the southern border coincided with former President Donald Trump’s dueling visit to Eagle Pass, Texas.
During his visit, President Biden delivered remarks highlighting the urgency of passing a bill that will provide billions of dollars for border security and immigration reform.
He criticized Republicans and the former president for obstructing the recent border deal that was agreed in the Senate.
“I understand my predecessor is in Eagle Pass today,” President Biden said during his speech.
“Here’s what I would say to Mr. Trump: Instead of playing politics with this issue, instead of telling members of Congress to block this legislation, join me or I'll join you and tell the Congress to pass this bipartisan border security bill. We can do it together,” he added.
President Biden touted the border deal, calling it “the toughest, most efficient, most effective border security bill this country has ever seen.”
“So instead of playing politics with the issue, why don’t we just get together and get it done? Unless you remember who the heck we work for. We work for the American people, not the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, we work for the American people.”
Republicans, however, walked away from the Senate border deal, arguing that its provisions weren’t strong enough to prevent the influx of illegal immigrants.
President Biden traveled to Brownsville, located on the western Gulf Coast, while President Trump was about 300 miles away in Eagle Pass, the epicenter of the current border crisis.
It had been the busiest route for illegal crossings on the U.S.–Mexico border for about a decade before that.
Brandon Judd, head of the Border Patrol union, criticized President Biden in a recent op-ed for organizing a trip to Texas right after President Trump’s travel plans and selecting what he referred to as a “haven” location.
“Trump will be at Shelby Park, a location that Texas Governor Greg Abbott was forced to seize because of the rampant lawlessness fueled by the Biden administration’s policies,” Mr. Judd wrote on Feb. 28 in an op-ed for Fox News.
Mixed Reactions to Biden’s Visit
This was the president’s second trip to the border; he last visited in January 2023 when he went to El Paso, Texas.Illegal crossings have surpassed 8.8 million nationwide since President Biden assumed office, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.
According to Pew Research, 80 percent of Americans, including 73 percent of Democrats, think the U.S. government has done a bad job handling the illegal immigrant influx, the highest share recorded during Biden’s presidency.
Donald Trump secured a 5.6 percentage point victory in Texas in 2020. The Democrats, however, won a significant number of counties along or near the Texas-Mexico border in 2020. For example, in Cameron County, where Brownsville is located, Joe Biden won by 13 percentage points.
Residents of Brownsville had mixed reactions regarding President Biden’s visit.
Lourdes Bolado, 40, a coffee shop owner in downtown Brownsville, is thrilled to hear that a U.S. president is coming to her hometown.
“It’s an honor. It’s exciting. And hopefully, he can work out some of the pressing issues we have here,” she told The Epoch Times.
Ms. Bolado cites illegal crossings of people from Mexico as the most urgent concern for her community.
“We do feel it’s getting out of control,” she said.
However, this problem has not influenced her decision for 2024. Ms. Bolado, who supported Biden in 2020, is dedicated to voting for him in the upcoming election.
Martin Aguilera, a 50-year-old restaurant owner residing in Brownsville, identifies as a Democrat. However, he is unhappy with President Biden’s border policies.
“He’s not doing a good job regarding immigration,” Mr. Aguilera told The Epoch Times.
He expressed his outrage over the recent incident in New York where police officers were assaulted by multiple illegal immigrants.
He believes President Biden is fully responsible for the border crisis and has faith that the former president can address it.
“I’m a Democrat, but I’m going to vote for Trump,” he said, noting that the 2024 election would be his first time voting for a Republican president.
According to Ernesto Castaneda, a sociology professor and director of the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies at American University, Hispanics who have been in the United States for generations see the immigration issue as many other Americans do.
He pointed out that more recent arrivals tend to look at it differently.
“People who arrived in the last decades may see this as personal as they may have family members among those arriving recently to join them or see others coming for similar reasons to theirs,” he told The Epoch Times.
“Speaking badly about immigrants, asylum seekers, and refugees is like talking disrespectfully about them or their family members. This is also about family reunification and aiding people fleeing conflict-affected areas.”
