President Biden and former President Trump both visited the southern border, holding dueling events in Texas cities about 300 miles apart as they try to convince voters they are best capable to handle the record surge in migrants seeking entry into the U.S.
Border security has become the top issue in the 2024 campaign, according to Gallup, and a majority of Americans say the border situation is either a "crisis" (45%) or a "major problem" (32%), according to a recent survey by Pew Research Center.
In Brownsville, President Biden met with border patrol agents, law enforcement officials and local leaders before delivering remarks to call on congressional Republicans to approve the Senate's bipartisan border security bill that former President Trump lobbied them to defeat.
The president said border officials "desperately need more resources" that only Congress can provide, prodding Republicans to "show a little spine" and pass the bill, which includes funding for more agents between ports of entry and more immigration judges to address the severe backlog in cases.
President Biden also directly addressed his predecessor, urging him to put aside politics and let Republicans vote on what would amount to the first bipartisan comprehensive border security bill in decades.
"Instead of telling members of Congress to block this legislation, join me," he said. "Or I'll join you in telling the Congress to pass this bipartisan border security bill. We can do it together. You know and I know, it's the toughest, most efficient, most effective border security bill this country's ever seen."
In Eagle Pass, Mr. Trump met with Texas officials, including Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, and placed the blame for the migrant crisis on his successor, accusing him of allowing criminals and drugs to pour across the border.
He focused on the death of 22-year-old University of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley. The man charged with her killing illegally entered the U.S. from Venezuela.
"This is a Biden invasion," the former president said. "The United States is being overrun by the 'Biden migrant crime.' It's a new form of vicious violation to our country."
