The announced trip of the president, Joe Biden, to the border with Mexico on Thursday of this week arrives “too late” and with it he seeks to “save himself” in the November presidential elections, the highest union leader of the Border Patrol.
“After repeatedly stating that there was no immigration crisis, his trip now means too little and arrives too late,” criticized Brandon Judd, the president of the CBP union, in an interview with the conservative network Fox News.
“He has had three years to do what he had to do to secure the border.
Three years to implement policies,” continued Judd, a frequent critic of the president.
“Now we are only eight months away from the elections and it seems that he is interested in [the border], and he is only interested because he is selfish and wants to save himself.”
Biden has visited the southern border only once
since taking office in 2020. He did so in January 2023, under pressure over the record number of illegal crossings and reports of breakdowns in the shelter system for asylum seekers.
Joe Biden with Border Patrol agents at the US-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, on January 8, 2023.Andrew Harnik / AP
The president's visit to the Texas-Mexico border this Thursday will coincide with a visit on the same day by former President Donald Trump, at a time when the border gains increasing electoral weight heading into November.
Other political figures view Biden's visit to the border in a better light.
“We would have liked him to come sooner, but as they say, it is better late than never and we hope he can see what is happening,” said the mayor of McAllen, Javier Villalobos, in an interview with Noticias Telemundo.
Biden will travel to Brownsville, Texas, on Thursday, where he will meet with Border Patrol agents, law enforcement and local leaders, the White House said in a statement Monday.
“He will reiterate his calls for Republicans in Congress to stop playing politics and approve the funds necessary to assign additional Border Patrol agents, more asylum officers, fentanyl detection technology and more,” the statement detailed.
Two sources familiar with Trump's plans told NBC News that the former president will deliver a speech in Eagle Pass, Texas, about 330 miles from where Biden will be.
Earlier this month, Senate Republicans rejected a bipartisan border security bill that
would have implemented the toughest immigration rules in decades
.
The legislation succumbed under pressure from Trump.
While that was happening, the House of Representatives, controlled by the Republican Party, approved by a narrow margin of 214-213 to impeach the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, for his management of the border.
The efforts did not progress in Congress.