Both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will be heading to the U.S. border with Mexico in Texas, with the presidential candidates of 2024 attempting to use the immigration issues facing the nation to their advantage in the upcoming election.
A string of buoys is pictured in the Rio Grande at the US-Mexico border in Eagle Pass, Texas on August 25, 2023.
The locations chosen are meant to help each individual hammer home their respective points. Biden, who has been accused of being soft on border control and immigration, will visit Brownsville, Texas to skewer the Republicans who killed a bipartisan border security deal on Trump's orders.
This particular section of the border has been called the busiest corridor for illegal crossings for nine years. However, analysts note that crossings there have dropped sharply as of late.
What About Donald Trump?
Donald Trump will be heading to Eagle Pass, Texas, which sits about 325 miles northwest of Brownsville. This section of the border is currently seeing the lion's share of illegal crossings.
The former president is expected to speak out against his likely opponent in the upcoming election and tout his record on the border. These border visits are both symbolic, with rhetoric on both sides being spewed along party lines.
The burden of proof is currently on Joe Biden, who as acting president saw record numbers of illegal immigrants enter the country in June 2023. However, those numbers have dropped dramatically in the past three months.
AP reports that a poll from AP-NORC in January reveals voter concern over immigration rose from 27% last year to 35% this year.
Also, fifty-five percent of Republicans who responded to the poll believe the government needs to focus more on immigration.
Only 22% of Democrats who responded to the poll believe immigration is an issue.
