Biden Visits US-Mexico Border, First Time in Since 2008

On his first trip to the region after two years in office, President Joe Biden walked a muddy stretch of the US-Mexico border and inspected a busy port of entry on Sunday, a visit overshadowed by the fraught politics of immigration, as Republicans blame him for record numbers of migrants crossing into the country.

The president observed border officers in El Paso demonstrate how they search vehicles for drugs, money, and other contraband during his first stop. He then went to a dusty street with abandoned buildings and walked along a metal border fence that separated the United States city from Ciudad Juarez.

His final stop was the El Paso County Migrant Services Center, but no migrants were in sight. As he learned more about the services available, he asked a volunteer, “If I could wave the wand, what should I do?”

Biden’s nearly four-hour trip to El Paso was tightly orchestrated. Except for when his motorcade drove alongside the border and about a dozen migrants lined up on the Ciudad Juárez side, he encountered no migrants. His visit did not include any time spent at a Border Patrol station, where illegal immigrants are apprehended and held before being released.

The visit appeared to be intended to demonstrate a smooth operation for processing legal migrants, weeding out smuggled contraband, and treating those who had entered illegally in a humane manner, creating a counter-narrative to Republicans’ claims of a crisis situation equivalent to an open border.

However, his visit is unlikely to appease critics on both sides, including immigrant advocates who accuse him of instituting cruel policies similar to those of his hardline predecessor, Donald Trump.

Biden given letter from Texas governor

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, handed Biden a letter as soon as he touched down in the state, saying the “chaos” at the border was a “direct result” of the president’s failure to enforce federal laws. During his tour, Biden took the letter from his jacket pocket and told reporters, “I haven’t read it yet.”

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy called Biden’s visit a “photo op,” tweeting that the Republican majority would hold the administration “accountable for creating the most dangerous border crisis in American history.”

El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego welcomed Biden’s visit, but said the president was unable to see how large the group of newcomers was due to a recent lull in arrivals.

“He didn’t get to see the real difficulties,” Samaniego, a member of the local delegation that welcomed Biden, said. “It was fortunate that he was present. It’s just the beginning. However, we still need to do more and spend more time with him.”

Hundreds of migrants gathered Sunday outside the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in El Paso, where they have been sleeping outside and receiving three meals a day from faith groups and other humanitarian organizations.

Venezuelans abandoned by Biden

Among the migrants were several pregnant women, including Karla Sainz, 26, who was eight months pregnant. She was traveling with her 2-year-old son, Joshua, in a small group. Sainz left her three other children with her mother in Venezuela.

“I’d like to ask President Biden for permission or something so we can work and continue,” she said. Juan Tovar, 32, one of several people in her group, suggested he was leaving for political reasons as well. “The worst is socialism,” he said. “In Venezuela, they kill us, torture us, and we can’t criticize the government. We are in worse shape than Cuba.”

Noengris Garcia, who was also eight months pregnant, was traveling with her husband, teen son, and small family dog from the Venezuelan state of Portuguesa, where she ran a food stall.

“We don’t want money or a house,” Garcia, 39, explained. “All we want to do is work.”

Asked what he’s learned by seeing the border firsthand and speaking with the officers who work along it, Biden said: “They need a lot of resources. We’ll go get it for them.”

El Paso is currently the busiest crossing point for illegal immigrants, owing in large part to Nicaraguans fleeing repression, crime, and poverty in their home country. They are among four countries’ migrants who are now subject to immediate deportation under new rules enacted by the Biden administration last week, which drew harsh criticism from immigration advocates.

Biden’s recent border security policy announcements and border visit were intended to mitigate the impact of upcoming immigration investigations promised by House Republicans. However, any long-term solution will necessitate action by a deeply divided Congress, where multiple attempts to enact major changes have failed in recent years.

Texas to Mexico City

Biden traveled south from Texas to Mexico City, where he will meet with the leaders of Mexico and Canada on Monday and Tuesday for a North American leaders summit. Immigration is one of the topics on the agenda.

During Biden’s first two years in office, the number of migrants crossing the US-Mexico border has increased dramatically. During the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, there were more than 2.38 million stops, the first time the figure surpassed 2 million. The administration has struggled to crack down on border crossings, hesitant to take measures similar to those implemented by Trump’s administration.

The policy changes announced this week are Biden’s most significant move yet to limit illegal border crossings, and they will turn away tens of thousands of migrants. At the same time, 30,000 migrants per month from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haiti, and Venezuela will be allowed to enter the United States legally if they travel by plane, find a sponsor, and pass background checks.

The United States will also turn away migrants who do not first seek asylum in a country they passed through on their way to the United States. Migrants are being asked to fill out a form on a phone app in order to visit a port of entry on a pre-determined date and time.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters on Air Force One that the administration is attempting to “incentivize a safe and orderly way and cut out the smuggling organizations,” adding that the policies are “not at all a ban,” but rather an attempt to protect migrants from the trauma that smuggling can cause.

Some welcomed the changes, particularly leaders in cities where migrants had gathered. However, immigrant advocacy groups chastised Biden for adopting policies similar to those of the former president. Officials from the administration disputed that assessment.

In his 50 years in public service, Biden has spent very little time at the US-Mexico border.

The White House could only point to Biden’s drive by the border during his presidential campaign in 2008. He dispatched Vice President Kamala Harris to El Paso in 2021, but she was chastised for largely avoiding the action because El Paso was not the crossroads hub that it is now.

Trump, who has made hardening immigration a signature issue, has made several trips to the border.