Biden Challenges Trump to ‘Join Me’ in Tightening U.S.-Mexico Border

You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load. President Biden and former President Donald J. Trump used dueling visits to the border to blame each other for the country’s broken immigration system. Visiting Brownsville, Texas, President Biden called […]

T Kauer T Kauer
Mar 1, 2024 - 10:15
Biden Challenges Trump to ‘Join Me’ in Tightening U.S.-Mexico Border

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President Biden and former President Donald J. Trump used dueling visits to the border to blame each other for the country’s broken immigration system.

President Biden speaks at a podium while gesturing with both hands. Officials stand behind him.
Visiting Brownsville, Texas, President Biden called on his predecessor to help pass a bipartisan bill in Congress that would significantly crack down on border crossings. Credit…Kenny Holston/The New York Times

Zolan Kanno-YoungsMichael GoldErica L. Green

By Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Michael Gold and Erica L. Green

Zolan Kanno-Youngs has reported on immigration during the Biden and Trump administrations. He reported from Washington; Michael Gold from Eagle Pass, Texas; and Erica L. Green from Brownsville, Texas.

President Biden and former President Donald J. Trump made dueling visits to the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday, with Mr. Biden challenging his predecessor to “join me” in securing the country’s southern frontier and Mr. Trump blaming the president for lawlessness at the border.

The remarks came at a moment of political peril for Mr. Biden, who has faced criticism from both parties as the number of people crossing into the United States has reached record levels, with migrant encounters more than double than in the Trump years.

In appearances some 300 miles apart in Texas, Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump tried to leverage what is likely to become the most volatile policy dispute of the 2024 campaign.

Image

President Biden visited the border with Mexico at Brownsville, Texas, on Thursday. The administration said Brownsville was an example of how Mr. Biden works with Mexico to deter migrants.Credit…Kenny Holston/The New York Times

The president called on his predecessor to help pass a bipartisan bill in Congress that would significantly crack down on border crossings. Republicans, at Mr. Trump’s urging, torpedoed the bill — legislation that they themselves had demanded — saying it wasn’t strong enough.

“Instead of telling members of Congress to block this legislation, join me,” Mr. Biden said in Brownsville, a border city in the Rio Grande Valley.

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