Trump to Visit Border

Former President Donald Trump announced his acceptance of Gov. Greg Abbot's, R-Texas, invitation to visit the U.S.-Mexico border on June 30, 2021.

In his official statement, Trump said:

The Biden Administration inherited from me the strongest, safest, and most secure border in U.S history and in mere weeks they turned it into the single worst border crisis in U.S history. What Biden and Harris have done, and are continuing to do on our border, is a grave and willful dereliction of duty. My visit will hopefully shine a spotlight on these crimes against our Nation—and show the incredible people of ICE and Border Patrol that they have our unshakeable support.

Gov. Doug Ducey, R-Az., joined Abbot in "[sending] a letter to governors all across the country to send any available law enforcement resources to their states to help with the ongoing border crisis," according to one source. The report said, "Abbot and Ducey noted that since Texas and Arizona are 'ground zero' for the current crisis, they are bearing the brunt and have spent a lot of money to address the issue."

Abbot authorized a $250 million down payment to hire contractors, construction experts and project managers to start collaborating on building the new border wall. Reportedly, Abbot "made a website for people to send money to support the project ... [at the same time] Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced his state would send police to Texas and Arizona to help with the current border crisis."

During a press conference in Austin, Abbot disclosed that $1.1 billion would be available to cover border security costs as "[t]he Biden Administration has abandoned its responsibilities to secure the border."

In his letter to Biden, Abbot said, "Securing the international border is one of the federal government's most fundamental responsibilities. The federal government used condemnation powers to take property from Texans for the purpose of building a border wall. I write now to demand that you immediately return...any land taken...Texas stands ready to build the wall."

Biden made headlines after announcing the end of Trump's "Remain in Mexico" policy. The report said, "President Biden paused [the program] shortly after taking office on Jan. 20, and has allowed into the country around 11,000 people who were in the program...Biden has faced criticism over his immigration policies from both the right and left...[b]ut the administration has sped up the pace of reform, drawing praise for [the] move."

"President Biden finally referred to the record influx of illegal immigrants at the US-Mexico border as a 'crisis' and acknowledged that the situation undermined his plans to admit more refugees from around the world," according to an April 2021 report. Biden has not yet reissued a public statement in response to Trump visiting the border and working with Abbot.

Despite Biden's appointment to address the border crisis, Vice President Kamala Harris has not yet confirmed her travel plans. When asked in an interview about visiting the U.S.-Mexico border, Harris said, "We are going to the border. We have to deal with what's happening at the border ... but we have to understand that there's a reason people are arriving at our border ... and then identify the problem so we can fix it."

After equating immigration reform to "helping a struggling neighbor", Harris continued, "[The United States] is prepared to show up and [help] in a way that is motivated by the best interest of diplomacy and democracy and good will ... there's not going to be a quick fix. We're not going to see an immediate return, but we're going to see progress."

Harris visited Guatemala and Mexico City to discuss root causes of immigration, followed by an appearance at a pride parade in Washington, D.C., to support the passing of the Equality Act.