Amid a critical surge in illegal border crossings, President Joe Biden will finally make a trip to the United States-Mexico border next week, he told reporters Wednesday.
While traveling to Northern Kentucky for an economic speech, a reporter questioned Biden on whether he was ever “going to the border,” to which Biden said, “[t]hat’s my intention.”
Thursday, during a presser delivering remarks on border security, Biden announced the trip officially, saying he will be traveling to Mexico to meet with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Biden also said he will visit the Southern border on Sunday.
According to Just The News, “a record 2.4 million migrants illegally entered the United States in fiscal year 2022 alone, with roughly 4 million doing so since Biden took office.”
Throughout this crisis, Congressional Republicans have slammed the lacking leadership of Biden and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on illegal immigration and the border.
Biden’s so-called “border czar” Kamala Harris visited the Southern border in 2021 shortly after her appointment to lead on the issue but hasn’t returned since.
Biden’s long-awaited visit comes after Republican governors have shipped busloads of thousands of illegal migrants to “sanctuary cities” like Washington, D.C., Chicago, New York, and Martha’s Vineyard, forcing those cities to deal with the very real challenges caused by America’s federal border policies.
This week, a Democrat governor also announced his intentions to bus migrants out of his state. Colorado Governor Jared Polis told New York City Mayor Eric Adams that he should expect busloads of illegal migrants soon.
Current Republican Governors Greg Abbott (R-TX) and Ron DeSantis (R-FL) both bussed migrants to sanctuary cities throughout 2022, as did former Republican Arizona Governor Doug Ducey.