(Headline USA) President Joe Biden claimed in a visit to Mexico this week that his administration was “well on our way” to getting a handle on the border crisis, despite the record-breaking surge in illegal immigration across the U.S.–Mexico border.
Biden met with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday to discuss trade partnerships and immigration patterns.
“Today, we’re going to discuss how we can further deepen that relationship not only with Mexico but the Western Hemisphere,” Biden told López Obrador. “This includes… how we can tackle irregular migration, which I think we’re well on our way to doing.”
In 2022 alone, there were 2.4 million arrests for illegal border crossings. Biden’s administration has thus far been reluctant to crack down on the crisis, instead repealing several Trump-era policies that slowed down the migrant surge.
Ahead of his visit to Mexico, however, Biden announced several new policies seemingly aimed at getting the crisis under control, including one that boosts the expulsion of Haitians, Cubans and Nicaraguans. Under this policy, Mexico will take back 20,000 migrants per month of these nationalities if they are caught illegally entering the U.S.
Biden’s trip to Mexico, which was preceded by his first ever presidential visit to the southern border, has come under heavy criticism. His visit to the border, specifically, drew scathing remarks from Republicans, who argued it’s “too little, too late.”
“Biden’s promise to secure the border is too little, and two years late. Irreversible damage has been done,” tweeted Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. “Over 313,000 illegal aliens flooded the border last month. 5.3M illegal aliens since Biden took office.”
Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott slammed Biden for clearing out trash and migrant encampments from El Paso before arriving to the town.
“Predictable,” Abbott tweeted. “Biden does not want America to see the chaos that he has caused on the border. This is just a photo op and a game of pretend.”
