Dem
51
GOP
49
With all the talk about immigration and the border crisis, Joe Biden should have gone down south for the required photo-op much earlier. But yesterday he finally made the trip for the first time. He went to El Paso, where he was greeted by Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX). Abbott immediately handed him a letter that said the border crisis was a direct result of Biden's failure to enforce federal immigration laws. On the other hand, the President was instantly criticized by members of the House Hispanic Caucus for pandering to MAGA voters. This is not Biden's first rodeo, and he knew he'd take withering fire from all sides, which is probably why he waited so long to make a visit to the border.
The nominal purpose of the trip was to talk to local officials and community leaders for managing the migration challenges caused by political oppression and gang violence in many parts of Latin America. Biden chose El Paso because that is where the most illegal immigration is at the moment. He also chose this moment because he knows the House will soon begin investigating immigration and didn't want to allow the Republicans to say: "Biden hasn't even been to the border." Now, with a high-profile visit just before they start, all they can say is: "Why did it take so long?" Actually, he answered the question himself yesterday by saying it was up to Congress to update the immigration laws and provide sufficient funding to enforce the laws. Take that, House Republicans!
Biden knows a hot potato when he sees it. As veep for 8 years, he traveled all over the world because then-president Obama wanted to focus on domestic issues. So he sent the former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hither and yon to avoid having to go himself. But in all this worldwide travels for many years, the only time Biden went to the Mexican border was a campaign stop in El Paso in 2008. Now the issue of immigration has become so critical that he will have to deal with it. Most likely, he will blame Congress for not updating immigration laws and House Republicans will blame him for not enforcing current laws. Then nothing will happen, as usual. Mission accomplished. (V)