The former and incumbent presidents are expected to discuss divergent views on immigration during dueling events in Texas amid the 2024 presidential campaign.
LAREDO, TexasâFormer President Donald Trump is coming to Eagle Pass, a Texas border town of about 30,000 residents that has been inundated by illegal immigrants coming from MexicoÂ. The former presidentâs visit on Thursday will draw even more attention to a town that has become a flashpoint in federal and state authoritiesâ tug-of-war over border enforcement.
Meanwhile, on the same day, President Biden will give remarks in Brownsville, about 300 miles away from Eagle Pass. That border town at Texasâs southern tip, home to about 200,000 people, has seen a decline in illegal border crossings in recent months.
The visits highlight the immigration crisis as a key issue in the 2024 presidential race, expected to be a rematch between the former president and the incumbent. Their southern border trips come in the wake of record-breaking surges in illegal immigrationâa problem that is overwhelming communities and government agencies in various cities nationwide.
Agents have arrested more than 2 million illegal border-crossers during each of the past two years; in contrast, that number stayed below 1 million per year throughout President Trumpâs term in office.
Alison Anderson, a mother of three who lives near Eagle Pass, is resentful that President Biden has avoided border visits, unlike President Trump, who visited frequently during his presidency. This Thursdayâs visit marks only the second time that President Biden has visited the southern border since he took office; he made a stop in El Paso in January 2023.
âItâs a joke for him to come here three and a half years into the border crisis that he created himself,â she told The Epoch Times.
When asked about President Bidenâs call for Congress to give him more funding and more authority to address the border, Ms. Anderson was not impressed.
âThis is his mess,â she said, âand he needs to own it.â
In contrast, Ms. Anderson sees President Trumpâs visit in a positive light. âWe already know what he is capable of doing with the border,â she said, referring to the policies he implemented during his term. Ms. Anderson is confident that, if he regains the presidency, he will fulfill his pledge to reinstitute border-enforcement policies.
Ms. Anderson said she and other residents are looking for relief from a litany of problems, including âconvicted rapists illegally cutting through their properties … illegals trying to break into their home … trying to steal their vehicle … trying to come up to their little girls at night.â
âPeople are fed-up in border communities,â she said. âWeâre tired of it.â
But some lifelong residents of Laredo, a border town of about 256,000 people about halfway between Eagle Pass and Brownsville, said that illegal immigration has always been an accepted part of life for them.
âItâs just that right now, the focus is there,â said Alejandra Lightner, 48, as she and her friend, Rosa Montante, 59, sat on a bench in Laredoâs North Central Park, feeding stray cats.
The two women said that some people appreciate being able to employ illegal immigrants to do yard work or house-cleaning at reduced rates. So, in that way, people are benefiting from illegal immigration.
Ms. Anderson bristles at that notion. âThis isnât about cheap labor. This is about our safety and our security and legal immigration, not breaking our laws to come into the United States,â she said.
Ms. Lightner did say that she was disappointed that President Biden has âbasically permittedâ a âmassive influxâ of illegal immigrants.
Still, both she and Ms. Montante said they are unwilling to vote for President Trump. They dislike several things about him, including the lewd remarks he made in a 2005 recorded conversation, which surfaced during the 2016 presidential race.
But Marisa Dancause, a woman walking two dogs with her husband, said itâs more important to consider what actions President Trump has taken to address illegal immigration. âWe all support what heâs doing because it should be done the right way. The border should be protected. Not everybody should be allowed to come,â said Ms. Dancause, noting that her mother is Mexican.
âI think that people should be welcome, if they apply appropriately, and if theyâre properly vetted, if you have background checks, and they come in here to be productive citizens,â she said.
Her family members who still live in Mexico agree with President Trumpâs contention that âno country can afford to take in millions and millions and millions of people,â Ms. Dancause said. âItâs impossible for a country to afford that.
By visiting Eagle Pass, âpeople should see that he cares about the southern border,â she said. âI think that itâs great, because heâs informing people of what he wants to do for our country.â
Charlotte Cuthbertson and The Associated Press contributed.
Original News Source Link – Epoch Times
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