Biden, Trump travel to Texas in dueling visits to U.S.-Mexico border

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President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump both traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday amid a duel over border security policy ahead of the 2024 election.

The bill would add 1,500 new border patrol personnel, boost asylum officers by 4,300, increase Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention beds by 50,000, add funding for 100 additional immigration judges, and funds to install 100 drug inspection machines.

It would also include $1.4 billion for cities and states dealing with the influx of immigrants.

“It would make our country safer, make our border more secure and treat people more fairly and humanely while preserving legal immigration, consistent with our nation’s values,” the White House said, noting it had received support from the Border Patrol Union, the Chamber of Commerce, the South Texas Alliance of Cities and the Wall Street Journal.

Senate Republicans, however, balked on the measure, which had initially been tied to funding for Ukraine and Israel as Trump has publicly made it clear he wants immigration and border policy to remain at the forefront of the public’s mind as the election draws near.

During his visit to Brownsville, Biden called the bill “the toughest set of border security reforms we’ve ever seen in this country” and argued the provisions in the bill would cut down on the backlog of asylum claims and deter people from entering the country illegally.