Ahead of Visit by President Biden At the U.S.-Mexico border, the White House on Thursday introduced a new term for illegal immigrants arriving in the country, calling them “new arrivals.”
Biden will travel to Brownsville, Texas, in an effort to reassure voters who have soured on his handling of the border crisis. Republicans have blasted the Biden administration for weak immigration enforcement, and a recent poll showed only 26% of Americans approve of the president’s work on immigration.
The language the White House uses to describe the crisis may not assuage voters’ concerns. In a fact sheet distributed by the White House press office to advocate for the bipartisan border deal that Biden endorsed, officials pointed out that the bill includes $1.4 billion ” for cities and states that provide essential services to newcomers.”
BIDEN’S BORDER VISIT COMES TO ONE OF THE LEAST TRAFFIC CITIES, WHILE TRUMP HEADS TO THE HEART OF IT
President Biden will travel to Brownsville, Texas, on Thursday to defend his administration’s border policies. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The reference to illegal immigrants as “newcomers” — suggesting equal status to migrants who come to the United States legally — drew swift condemnation from House Republicans.
“The Biden White House now refers to illegal immigrants as ‘new arrivals.’ Joe Biden is not serious about stopping illegal immigration to the United States. This is an intentional disaster,” the House GOP conference posted on X.
White House officials have repeatedly hit back at GOP criticism in recent weeks, saying that if Republican lawmakers were serious about securing the border, they would support bipartisan legislation approved by President Biden.
Former President Donald Trump will visit Eagle Pass, Texas, on the same day as President Biden’s visit to Brownsville, Texas, for a competing event on immigration. (John Moore/Getty Images)
Senate-negotiated border bill would increase Border Patrol staff and strengthen asylum rules, expand law enforcement authority to combat fentanyl smuggling and increase funding for cities and States receiving asylum seekers.
Republicans argued the bill would normalize high levels of illegal immigration and do little to stop the flow of people and drugs across the border.
“We’ve done the work to make sure that we’re dealing with a broken immigration system. The Republicans have stood in the way. They’ve stood in the way,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday. on CNN.
“And so look, this is serious business, which is why the president is going to the border. The president was at the border a year ago in El Paso, visiting the border in January 2023. He put in “put a comprehensive, comprehensive immigration policy in place from day one,” she added.
that of Biden Brownsville choice as his visit to the border is an area that has seen a relatively low number of migrant crossings into Texas.
CBP data shows Brownsville had just 46 migrant encounters in the past five days, compared to 2,106 in Eagle Pass. The former encountered an average of 17 migrants per day in February, while the latter encountered an average of 462.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Brownsville is part of CBP’s Rio Grande Valley sector, which has seen 87,426 migrant encounters so far in fiscal year 2024. The Del Rio sector that encompasses Eagle Pass has seen 182,077 encounters, but even that is well below the busiest area, which is around Tucson. , Arizona, and saw 297,380 encounters.
Former president Donald Trumpthe 2024 Republican presidential front-runner, will travel to Eagle Pass on a concurrent visit on Thursday, one of the busiest areas in Texas and ground zero for Gov. Greg Abbott’s fight with the Biden administration over immigration law enforcement.
Anders Hagstrom and Hanna Panreck of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
