U.S. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are each making visits Thursday to the U.S.-Mexico border, with border security likely to be a major campaign issue in the November presidential election.
Biden is going to Brownsville, Texas, located in a region where illegal crossings into the United States have fallen sharply in recent years.
The White House said Biden will give an address and receive a briefing on the border situation from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Trump, who sought to build an extensive wall at the U.S.-Mexico border during his presidency, is going Thursday to Eagle Pass, Texas, which is part of a sector that has been one of the busiest for illegal crossings in recent months.
Border security has been at the center of legislative debates in Washington as the Biden administration pushed for a security package with new funding for Ukraine and Israel. Republicans, particularly in the House of Representatives, advocated for including border security measures in the bill.
Trump rallied against a bipartisan Senate proposal that featured a number of border security provisions along with the Ukraine aid, ultimately leading to its defeat in the Senate. House Republicans have since insisted the border issue be addressed on its own before any action on foreign security aid.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press