EL PASO, Texas, Jan 9(Reuters) – President Joe Biden visited the U.S.-Mexico border on Sunday for the first time since taking office, tackling one of the most politically charged issues in the country as he prepares for a re-election bid.
Accompanied by Border Patrol agents, Biden toured a section of the wall that divides the two countries, a signature priority of his Republican predecessor Donald Trump, in an effort to demonstrate that he was taking the issue seriously.
But that has not impressed Republicans like Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who accused him of failing to enforce immigration laws.
Joined by Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, the president also visited the Bridge of the Americas, which connects the United States and Mexico, and viewed equipment that border officials use to detect illegal drugs. Biden wants to strengthen his relationship with border patrol officials, but some of them are hesitant to withdraw their tough crackdown policies from the White House.
Over the past two decades, right-wing lawmakers have repeatedly blocked proposals to reform US immigration policy.
Biden introduced an immigration reform bill to Congress on his first day in office two years ago, but it was blocked by Republican opposition.
After securing a narrow House majority in the 2022 midterm elections, Republicans are pursuing their own plans for the border.
Mayorcas said Sunday’s international crisis and legal impasse are limiting Biden’s ability to reduce the number of immigrants heading to the United States. El Paso’s Democratic mayor last month declared a state of emergency, saying hundreds of migrants are sleeping on the streets in the cold and thousands are being arrested every day.
U.S. border officials detained his record 2.2 million immigrants at the border with Mexico in fiscal year 2022, which ended in September, but that number includes those who tried to cross the border more than once. is included.
Along with expanding his powers to deport immigrants, Biden on Thursday opened legal and limited immigration routes for Cubans, Nicaraguans and Haitians. enter the country
Mallorcas dismissed the idea that Biden would revive a Trump-era crackdown.
“It’s not a ban at all,” he said. “Very different from what the Trump administration has proposed.”
In their hometown of El Paso, migrants welcomed the new policy with fear.
After visiting El Paso, Biden headed his Air Force her one south to an airport near Mexico City, where he was greeted by Mexican President Andres He Manuel He Lopez Obrador.
Biden, Lopez Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will hold a three-day summit starting Monday on energy, economic cooperation, immigration and drug trafficking, especially fentanyl.
Biden and his Mexican counterpart spoke briefly at the airport without commenting to the press.
Polls show that Americans rate Mr. Biden low on immigration policy. An average of polls collected by Real Clear Politics found that 37% of the public disapprove of Biden’s immigration policies.
“Basically, we have to fix the system,” Mayorcas told reporters.
