Top line
President Joe Biden arrived in El Paso on Sunday for his first visit to the US-Mexico border, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (right) greeted the president with a letter criticizing his immigration policies and accusing him of planning a “sanitized” visit. as the Biden administration struggles to curb a decades-long surge in unauthorized migration.
US President Joe Biden received a letter from Texas outlining problems on the southern border. … [+]
Key facts
Abbott shook hands with Biden after he left Air Force One and then handed Biden a letter accusing him of avoiding “places where massive illegal immigration occurs” and violating his “constitutional obligation to defend the States from invasion “.
Biden later traveled to the Bridge between the Americas, which connects Mexico to the United States, and met with Texas Democratic Party representatives Henry Cuellar, Veronica Escobar and Vicente Gonzalez, as well as local leaders such as El Paso Mayor Oscar Lizer (D).
The president, along with Homeland Security Minister Alejandro Majorcas, also observed the equipment used by the border authorities to detect contraband and observed a demonstration by a border patrol dog handler.
Hours before the visit, Majorcas and Abbott had fallen out in separate television appearances, with Majorcas accusing the Abbott administration of failing to cooperate with the federal government by bussing migrants to cities of refuge, including Washington, D.C., and New York, while Abbott claimed that the Biden administration planned the Texas visit without consulting the Abbott administration.
Biden is developing a new plan that would expand parole opportunities for Haitian, Cuban and Nicaraguan migrants, but quickly deport thousands of them to Mexico if they cross the border without permission. “.
A large number of
2.2 million. This is the highest number of arrests made at the border in fiscal year 2022 by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on record. Almost 10% of those arrested in the last fiscal year were Cuban citizens, another 7.4% were from Nicaragua and 8.5% from Venezuela, a stark contrast to previous years when the vast majority of migrants were citizens of Mexico or a handful of neighboring Central Asian countries. America.
key background
Border arrests have increased in recent years, with the Biden administration blaming this trend on poverty and violence in Central and South America, with Republicans blaming Biden’s immigration policies. The administration is preparing to end the Trump-era Title 42 program, which allows U.S. officials to quickly remove migrants at the border due to Covid-19 concerns. The program is controversial, with supporters claiming it controls illegal border crossings and opponents saying it prevents migrants from exercising their legal right to seek asylum. The Biden administration sought to end Section 42 earlier this year, even as it extended to some migrants from Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba and Nicaragua in recent months. The policy was upheld by the Supreme Court last month while a Republican lawsuit against its expiration was being played out in court. Biden said last week that he was postponing the border visit until a decision was made on Section 42.
Chief Critic
“Your visit to our southern border with Mexico today is $20 billion too short and two years too late,” Abbott wrote in his letter, which also asks Biden to “strongly prosecute trespassing,” declare Mexican drug cartels by foreign terrorist organizations and set up a border wall, among other measures.
Contra
Senators Cory Booker (DN.J.), Bob Menendez (DN.J.), Ben Ray Luján (DN.M.), and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) criticized Biden’s expansion of Section 42 to include Haitians, Cubans and Nicaraguans. Senators warned that he would “do nothing to restore the rule of law on the border” and instead “enrich human smuggling networks.” statement released on Thursday.
Tangent
Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) announced Sunday that he will introduce legislation allowing the military to help the Mexican army fight cartels on the southern border, he said at Sunday morning futures.
Further Reading
Biden says he will visit the southern border for the first time as president (Forbes)
Judge strikes down Trump’s Section 42 policy used to expel migrants (Forbes)
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