Dueling Border Visits Cap Immigration Crisis Under Biden

President Joe Biden is going to the border on Thursday…and so is former President Donald Trump.

U.S. Congressmen Juan Ciscomani, Harriet Hageman, Bruce Westerman, Pete Stauber, Doug LaMalfa, James Moylan and Mike Collins speaking with U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agents at the United States-Mexico border wall in Hereford, Arizona. February 23, 2024. (Photo: Gage Skidmore)

“Biden’s Next Steps on Immigration,” fretted David Leonhardt for the New York Times on Monday. “The president has come to recognize that the surge of undocumented immigration is a threat to his re-election.”

Biden is the president, after all, and a president has significant authority to shape immigration policy even without new legislation.

Biden himself has been aggressive about using this authority — albeit to loosen immigration policy rather than tighten it.

At times, Biden administration officials have tried to downplay or even deny that their policies have contributed to the migration increase. Yet the officials’ recent actions suggest that they may not even believe their own denials.”

Biden’s latest action on the border crisis suggests that he too may be having grave doubts about the immigration strategies of the Biden Administration.

In a surprising move over three years into his first term as President, Mr. Biden announced that he would be visiting the border on Thursday.

“How Biden’s border trip came together,” explained Monica Alba, Mike Memoli, and Allie Raffa for NBC News on Monday.