Biden asked Congress for increased enforcement funds last year and threatened to "shut down the border" if given the power to send back migrants under criticism from Republicans who accuse him of failing to control the border.
A source suggested the White House may utilize executive authority to refuse more migrants refuge at the border. Republicans say Biden could enforce laws and take executive action without Congress's approval.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, whom Republican lawmakers barely voted to impeach for border management, joined Biden. The Democratic-led Senate is unlikely to approve. "This visit is about our work, not others' rhetoric," Mayorkas told Air Force One reporters.
In a Jan. 31 Reuters-Ipsos poll, 17% of respondents named immigration the most pressing issue confronting the U.S., up from 11% in December. It was the top Republican issue, with 36% mentioning it over 29% citing the economy.
Abbott, whose administration is creating a military "base camp" near Eagle Pass to dissuade migrants, joined Trump. Even though the number of illegal migrants arrested crossing into Eagle Pass and Brownsville declined substantially in January and February, the border security discussion remains polarized.
A Texas federal judge stopped the state's new law giving officers extensive powers to detain, prosecute, and deport illegal border crossers on Thursday.
In Operation Lone Star, Abbott has sent thousands of National Guard troops and placed concertina wire and river buoys to dissuade illegal immigration.
some Democrats told Reuters they were supporting Trump. Wendy Riojas, 25, traveled to downtown Eagle Pass to see Trump visit her hometown. She voted for Biden in 2020 but is undecided in November. "You feel sometimes for people who are in situations like that who are dying to get over here," said she. "But I understand more of the Republican view of ... how about we focus on ourselves first."
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