Biden finally heads to the border: President, 81, leaves for Texas trip the same time as Trump as White House denies claims he’s going for a ‘photo op’ in section where crossings have dropped

President Joe Biden headed to the border on Thursday, heading to a place where the number of border crossings is at an all-time low, as the White House denies accusations that he is taking a “photo op.”

Biden will travel to Brownsville, Texas, on the same day Donald Trump will be in Eagle Pass, Texas. The cities are about 300 miles apart and the two men are not expected to communicate.

But Eagle Pass remains a hotspot for migration, while the number of border crossings in Brownsville has decreased dramatically. At one time there were 10,000 per day.

Biden, who wore sneakers with his slacks and jacket, spoke about a ceasefire in Gaza before leaving the White House but did not discuss his trip.

White House officials have defended the president, saying House Republicans are engaging in a “political stunt.”

While in Brownsville, Biden “will meet with U.S. Border Patrol agents, law enforcement, frontline personnel and local leaders to discuss the urgent need to pass the Senate’s bipartisan border security deal,” a White House official said .

Biden is considering executive orders that would result in the border being closed to new arrivals if more than an average of 5,000 migrants per day attempt to cross unlawfully over the course of a week, or more than 8,500 attempt to cross in a day.

The President will be accompanied on his trip by Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Representative Vincente Gonzalez, local elected officials, as well as personnel from Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and US Citizenship and Immigration Services. (USCIS).

Biden will be briefed on border security operations and then he will make public comments on the need for Republicans in the House of Representatives to pass a bipartisan border package already approved by the Senate. Conservatives argue that the legislation is not strong enough to combat illegal immigration.

The bill included more than $20 billion for border security, which would add new Customs and Border Patrol agents, add more asylum officers to lengthen process times, and add more immigration judges.

Democrats accuse the Republican Party of electoral politics. Trump, who is likely Biden’s rival in the 2024 presidential election, has spoken out against the legislation.

The former president, while in Eagle Pass, wiI will condemn Biden over the record number of illegal crossings and the murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley. An illegal immigrant was arrested and charged with the crime.

His campaign has accused Biden of aiding Trump’s decision to visit the border, which the White House denies.

In Brownsville, border crossings have fallen dramatically in recent months after Republican Governor Greg Abbott installed miles of wire fencing as part of Operation Lone Star, which he signed into law in December.

Internal CBP data for all Border Patrol stations in February – obtained by Fox News – shows that there were approximately 462 apprehensions in the Brownsville area, which amounts to about 17 per day.

That makes Brownsville, Texas, the 29th busiest Border Patrol station of the month. The number one station was Three Points in the Tucson, Arizona sector, which recorded more than 13,900 apprehensions in February.

Brownsville could provide Biden with a platform to argue that the number of illegal border crossings has dropped dramatically, as it was the busiest corridor for illegal border crossings for nine years.

But the Republicans have called it something else: a ‘photo-op.’

Speaker Mike Johnson accused Biden of just going for the optics.

“Brownsville is the 29th hot spot. Why would he go to 29th? Because he doesn’t really want to see reality,” he said Thursday.

At a Republican leadership press conference in the House of Representatives, many of the leaders repeatedly accused Biden of a “photo op.”

“President Biden is going to the border for a photo today,” Majority Leader Steve Scalise said. “He has the authority today to solve this problem he created.”

The White House has said it is Republicans in the House of Representatives who are turning the border into a “political stunt.”

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre pushed back against the GOP’s criticism of Biden’s trip, noting that it was Republicans in the House of Representatives who refused to vote on a bipartisan border security bill after Trump opposed it had spoken.

‘Oh, it’s very different. What the Republicans in the House of Representatives have done is nothing, absolutely nothing. In any case, they are constantly in the way,” she said during her press conference.

“They’re turning it into a political stunt by listening to Donald Trump and saying they have to put an end to it. This is what they did and made it political, with the president now directing his team to work with senators, both Republicans and Democrats, to get a bill done.”

Local groups are also angry about the president’s quick visit, with one calling it a “press event.”

Voces Unidas RGV, part of the Souther Border Communities coalition, accused the White House of ignoring local needs.In exchange for a press event, ironically to meet with law enforcement officials about border security.”

“Despite these visits to the border, despite the photo ops and the press-friendly quotes, we remain unimpressed by the Biden administration’s lackluster commitment to our border communities in Texas, especially our immigrant, low-income and mixed-status communities the group said. a statement.

They called on Biden to sit down with migrants.

“If President Biden wants to be the public servant people need, he must take the time to sit down with underserved communities to hear where they stand.”

Brownsville has a predominantly Hispanic population, which at 93.9% has the third highest percentage of Hispanic Americans of any city in the US.

Its proximity to the border and large Hispanic community had made it a hotspot for illegal immigration. Moreover, with 200,000 inhabitants, it is one of the larger cities in the country and able to accommodate the influx of migrants.

The city is also a democratic stronghold. And it has a big one bus station and airport where migrants can leave for other destinations.

Biden and Trump’s trips come as the immigration issue comes to the forefront of the campaign.

They also come a few days before the Super Tuesday primaries on March 5, when more than a dozen states will hold Republican nominating contests.

Both men have railed against each other over the border issue as they try to turn it into election-year fodder.

There have been record border crossings during Biden’s administration, a fact Trump and Republicans have called him out on.

And according to a Gallup poll, immigration is the most common issue cited by adult voters who disapprove of Biden’s performance.

The White House has tried to change the narrative on the issue, blaming Trump and Republicans in the House of Representatives for their refusal to support the bipartisan Senate bill. Conservatives argue the legislation didn’t go far enough.

The bill included more than $20 billion for border security, which would add new Customs and Border Patrol agents, add more asylum officers to lengthen process times, and add more immigration judges.

The president is also under pressure from Democrats, including governors, mayors and senators in border states, to do more on the issue.

His first trip to the southern border was in January 2023, when Biden spent about four hours on the ground in El Paso, Texas.