President Biden's visit to the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday reflects his wishful thinking on the issue, arriving at one of the least-trafficked towns on the border.
Biden will visit Brownsville, Texas, which ranks as the 29th-most trafficked town by illegal border-crossers, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Former President Trump, meanwhile, is set to hold a competing visit to the border, though he will arrive at Eagle Pass, Texas, one of the most heavily-trafficked towns in the country
Biden's trip to Texas is an attempt to address his deep unpopularity on the issue, with a recent poll showing just 26% of Americans support his handling of the border.
CBP data shows that Brownsville has seen just 46 migrant encounters over the past five days, compared to 2,106 in Eagle Pass. The former averaged 17 migrant encounters per day in February, while the latter averaged 462.
Brownsville is part of the 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 far below the busiest sector, which lies around Tucson, Arizona, and has seen 297,380 encounters.
Eagle Pass has also been the center of an ongoing standoff and court battle between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the administration over border-related issues, including setting up razor-wire and a new anti-illegal immigration law.
The White House says Biden will use the visit to renew his calls for Congress to pass a bipartisan border agreement, which would have increased staffing at the border as well as tightening asylum rules, moved to tackle fentanyl smuggling, and increased funding to communities and NGOs receiving migrants. Republicans argued it fell well short of what is necessary.
Former President Trump is set to visit Eagle Pass, Texas, one of the most heavily-trafficked towns in the country. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
"He will discuss the urgent need to pass the Senate bipartisan border security agreement, the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border in decades," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said aboard Air Force One on Wednesday. "He will reiterate his calls for congressional Republicans to stop playing politics and to provide the funding needed for additional U.S. Border Patrol agents, more asylum officers, fentanyl detection technology and more.
